Luke 1;15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Christmas - it’s nearly over. For many of us it’s been a different and difficult as our lives have changed so dramatically. For me and my family, Christmas without Beryl and Kevin has not been easy, Doreen and Pat, Christmas without Simon - Sheila and her family, Christmas without Billy - not an easy time for many folk. We have been thinking too about the parents who have lost their children in the Pakistan school massacre and how difficult their Christmas must have been.

We thought about the children who have lost their parents and whole families through the outbreak of the terrible disease Ebola. Thankfully there were those who provided love and aid at Christmas - Doctors, Nurses and Soldiers who gave up their Christmas with their families and went to provide medical aid to those who have survived the disease.

Then there was the tragic events in Glasgow - families torn apart, the schools where so many lovely young people were killed in the car crash.

For thousands, Christmas this year has not been easy and we thank God for those who have risked their lives to go and tend the sick and the dying. To let God’s love be seen and felt by those who are suffering and need comfort and hope.

That’s why God sent Jesus into the world - to be His physical presence to not only give mankind a true picture of a loving God who cares about His creation. A God who not only feels our pain, shares our grief but promised to come and live within us to help us through the difficult times and promise that one day we will share a new life in a better place where love abounds.

On a happier note, what about you this morning - how has Christmas been for you this year? I trust that you will have been blessed by all the activities, from sending Cards choosing Gifts for family and friends, Fellowshipping together around the Christmas table.

What’s been special about this years festivities for you? I guess in the Sanson family it’s been really special with the addition of new member of the family.

It was good to share together last Sunday afternoon for our Corps Christmas tea with friends and families and then to gather together for our annual Carol Service and watch as the youngsters brought the nativity scenes to life for us.

What was more special to me was when - on Christmas Day - some of us gathered around the manger and celebrated His birthday together as a family of God.

It was a shame that more of our Corps members didn’t make it, but we were blessed by the three new friends who came and shared that time with us - just 15 of us - but for me it was one of the most precious times of the Christmas season as we completed our Advent wreath and lit all the candles, Hope, Peace, Joy, Love and then the centre one that signified the Light that had come into the world to dispel the darkness and bring light and hope. The presence of Almighty God as seen in Jesus.

Christmas Day hadn’t exactly started off very well for me. After getting up early and preparing the Turkey, Lamb and Chicken and making sure that the oven turned itself on at the right time, setting the table for ten, making sure I had my meeting plan and then ringing Thelma to arrange to pick her and Christine up for the meeting, I went to the car and shock horror - it wouldn’t start.

It was now 10am and I was sat in a car that wouldn’t start. The brake was solid, the gear levers wouldn’t move - the key turned but wouldn’t fire - I sat there and thought what else can go wrong. I quickly arranged transport for Thelma and Christine with Tony as the Sunbridge Road didn’t start until 11am. I then rang Frank to ask him to come and pick me up. Thankfully we all arrived and we were able to start the service just 5 minutes later than we should.

We finished at 11.30 and shared mince pies and a chat together with our newcomers before heading for home to have dinner with the family and then open our presents around the Christmas tree.

On Thursday night after everyone had gone home, I sat, heaved a great big sigh of relief and thanked God that, apart from the car, everything had turned out well - I would deal with the car tomorrow. All I had to do was prepare this mornings meeting.

The next morning I checked my AA Home Relay Service only to find that by home, they mean at least a quarter of a mile away. I had planned to visit Nancy, Sheila, Doreen and Audrey but resigned myself to staying in.

Eric, who lives opposite came across for a chat and I told him about my car and the many attempts I, Steven and Catherine had made to get it started - I then sat in the car seat put the key in the ignition to show him the problem - I turned the key and after a couple of splutters it started - Hallelujah.

I remembered straight away that that morning as I had knelt at my bedside as I do every morning - I had prayed asking God to help me sort the car out - and He has.

Here we are this morning - and apart from our Gaither evening tonight Christmas is almost over and here we are just three days from the beginning of a New Year.

I guess that for Mary and Joseph, following the visits of the Shepherds they too would be able to sit back, relax and contemplate all that had taken place over that first Christmas season. There lives would never be the same, like Rachel, they had a new addition to the family who they had to care for, to love and to nurture. They were left with each other but most importantly with the presence of Almighty God.

We are told that when the visitors had all gone, Mary pondered over the events and all that had been said about her baby, Jesus, the Saviour of the world and she treasured these things in her heart.

I love the song that Mark Lowry and Buddy Green wrote - Mary did you know? - it’s a song that asks questions of Mary the mother of Jesus about her special baby -

I’m sure that as Mary looked at Jesus and pondered in her heart all that, the shepherds had said to her, but also the words that the angel shared when he appeared to her to announce that she would be the mother of the Saviour of the World.

Luke 1;28 The angel went to Mary and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

I guess that she would never in her wildest dreams realise that when the angel talked about Jesus on a throne reigning over the kingdom - that He had come to show us what God was really like and be prepared to die on a cross for the sins of the world in order to purchase our Salvation.

When parents look at their babies, they look through eyes of love and desire the best for their children. For Jesus the Saviour of the World - the reality was that He would spend His life ministering to others, sharing the love of His father God who had sent Jesus to die for mankind.

Mark Lowry's songMary did you know that your baby boy will some day walk on water?Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?And when your kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again.The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?This sleeping child you're holding is the great I am

Immanuel - God with us - that’s what we have just celebrated this Christmas - God Almighty God coming into our world as a man, sharing our feelings, our emotions

The same joy, love, grief even pain that we bear - A God who knows exactly how you feel and understands and cares. Is it any surprise that the shepherds and the wise men would leave the manger with a sense of wonderment and Joy.

The Shepherds, had the excitement of going away to broadcast the good news of the Saviour to the whole world. The Magi too spread the good news. For all the people who played such an important part in the Awesome Christmas experience - life would take on a new meaning - The birth of our Saviour would change their lives for ever - they would never be the same again..

For many people this Christmas will have been hectic as they got caught up in all the festivities and the following days would be nothing more than an anti climax as they prepared to get back to normality- look forward to the New Year. For many it will have been just another ’Holiday’ - nothings changed.

Thankfuly there are those, and I hope that we are amongst them, for whom Christmas Day was more than just a holiday but indeed a ‘Holy Day’ a time to come closer to God and experience His presence. That’s what I felt like as we gathered around the manger - this was His day - His birthday. A time to celebrate His presence in our world.

A time for reflection over our own lives and a desire to commit our lives to God -

a time when once again we gathered to worship Him and rededicated our lives into His service.

On Christmas day we closed our service with the carol ’what can I give Him - I’ll give Him my heart. We’re going to do the same this morning and as we do - if Christmas has taken on a new meaning to you - share that with God - if you realise that you have paid more attention to the festivities and neglected to celebrate the truth of the Saviours birth - share that with God and ask Him to help you to change your heart to put Him first and experience His presence in your life.

Who knows what 2015 will bring to any of us - without God, I would not have been able to cope with all that this last year has meant for me - With Christ at the centre of our lives - He will give us the strength to cope with whatever the New Year holds - with the added Joy of knowing that His presence will be with us.

The best Christmas Present is the Christmas Presence of the Lord.

Carol Service 2014I can’t believe that we are only 4 days away from Christmas Day - I wonder how many of you are ready ? Two years ago was a very difficult time for us as a family when my eldest son Kevin died the day before the Carol Service. I’ll never forget the way in which as people came into the morning service and I had to tell them the awful news - they practically all said ’there are no words adequate enough to’ I took that as a word from the Lord as to what I should share that evening.

God must have thought the exact thing when He looked at the way the world was turning out. The way in which His creation had turned their backs on Him and were going their own selfish godless way. They had His word but were disobedient to it.

It would seem that Words were not enough - the word had to become flesh - and so God decided to come into our world in His son Jesus to show us what He, Father God was really like and to turn the hearts of His creation, His children, back to the heart of God the Father.

He came to show the what His word was trying to tell them. That God loves His creation and wants fallen man back into His fold and family.

Eliza Doolittle in the musical ‘My fair Lady’ was trying to learn from Proffesor Higgins but it all proved too much and so in desperation she cried out - ‘Word, Words. I’m sick of blooming words - show me! That’s what God did and that’s what Christmas is all about. Christmas is ‘all wrapped up in Jesus’

I love everything about Christmas the trimming, the parties, Santa Claus, even singing about Rudolph in Sainsbury’s. Christmas is a huge world wide colourful party to celebrate one of the greatest events in the Christian Calendar - our dear Saviours birth

Last year I thought it would be good to introduce some new Christmas songs into our carolling repertoire. The songs are great. The kind of songs that once you learn them you can’t stop singing. One of them is called It’s all wrapped up. Written by Paul Field. The song reminds us of the real reason for the season of Christmas - that God’s greatest gift to you and me is Love. How did He present His love to us - it was all wrapped up in the person of Jesus. No ribbons or tape to undo - the gift came wrapped in Jesus.

Another of Paul Fields songs talks about the things that take so much of our time at Christmas the card writing, deciding what presents to buy our friends, going out and buying them, wrapping them, delivering them, the food preperation, the parties -etc

It then goes on to remind us of the reason behind the season - the reason we do it all and to make sure that all that doesn’t crowd out the truth of Christmas. The birth of Jesus the Saviour of the world.

Even though as we know from our Bible that God planned ‘Christmas’ centuries before it actually happened - even then - it took everyone by surprise. Even though God had told the world through the voices of the prophets - still the world wasn’t ready for the greatest event since creation- the time when God incarnate in Christ came to live in our world - the world He created but that had drifted away from Him causing Him to invade our world and draw alongside ordinary folk like you and me.

And here we are - 2014 and still the world rejects the truth of Jesus. Some Schools ban Nativity plays for fear of upsetting other religions - each year it gets increasingly difficult to buy real Nativity cards - lots of reindeers, Santas, Holly etc but Jesus in a manger? there are folk who simply ‘Haven’t got it.

I love it when we come together like tonight for the Carol Service when we put Jesus Christ centre stage in our celebrations - after all - He’s the real reason for the season.

We need to get through all the glitter, the glamour of the festivities, the party’s the presents and get to the truth - the coming of the long awaited Messiah. Its easy to be caught up in the festivities - and miss out on the real truth about Christmas. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of pushing Jesus further into the background of Christmas instead of placing Him centre stage in our celebrations.

Just as the Christmas presents are waiting to be unwrapped on Christmas day- tonight is the time to gather round the manger, and begin to unwrap the truth of the real Christmas Present - Jesus Immanuel - or should I say ’The real Christmas PRESENCE - Immanuel - God with us. Gods love all unwrapped for us to see.

My prayer for each one of us is that this Christmas will be very special in our homes and that as over the last few weeks , we have sought to unwrap Jesus from all the raz-a-ma-taz that is Christmas, our lives will begin to reflect the beauty of Jesus, God's gift to mankind.

Just as the word became flesh in Jesus, so the word, Jesus, needs to become flesh in us - we need to show the Love of God to our friends, family and the world at large. The world needs to see Christ in the hearts and lives of people like you and I.

At that first Nativity there was a ‘No vacancy’ sign on the inn - no room for Jesus.

This Christmas, as always, there will be many people celebrating Christmas but who have no room for Jesus. God wants people to take the ‘no vacancy’ sign down and give Jesus ‘room’ in their lives and hearts.

Jesus came into our to give man purpose and meaning - to offer forgiveness for past sins and promise of a new life now and to come. That’s the real truth of Christmas -

God in Christ Jesus became like us. He entered our world in Jesus and through Jesus came to share our world, to live with us so that one day we could go and share His world and live forever with Him.

Jesus came to show us what the Father was really like - Immanuel ‘God with us’

The word became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth. How can we resist such great love. No there are no words to say how we as a family are feeling - but just remember, that’s why Jesus, the word became flesh, we need to love one another

We need to share the good news with our friends, neighbours, relations, that Gods so loved His creation that He sent His Son into the world - that’s what Christmas is all about - the celebration of the birth of the Saviour of the world.

Jesus who is the Love of God made flesh came to show us that love is at the root of our Christian faith and life. Love is the greatest gift of all

21 December Fourth Sunday in Advent

Over the last three weeks we have lit a candle for each Sunday in Advent. Hope, Peace, Joy and today the fourth candle - the candle of Love.

When asked what the greatest commandment in the Law was? " Jesus replied "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: `Love your neighbour as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:36 Love - Love - Love

Paul to the Romans 9; 21 love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practise hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Paul calls for Christians to have a deep practical love within the fellowship that extends to those outside the fellowship. Friendship in the local church fellowship had to be worked at. To be real and meaningful, people had to be concerned about one another.

21 Love must be sincere When you say Love is all I have to give - mean it and follow it with action. Thats love for God, love for one another, love for our neighbours, workmates, friends, acquaintances Jesus said ' They shall know you are Christians by your love'.

God IS Love. Every activity of God is fuelled by LOVE

John 3;16 God so loved the world that He gave His only Son Jesus that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 15;13 Greater love hath no one than this that a man lay down His life for His friends - and you are My friends if you do what I command you.

Ephesians 1;5 In love God predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will

God is love and our relationship with God is often revealed by the sincerity of our love towards each other. 'Only as I truly know Thee can I make Thee truly known'. If we have a right relationship with our Father God, then He will be seen in our lives. God who Is Love will Be love through us. Love must be sincere - but there’s more;

Romans 9;21 Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. As Gods people we are called to speak up about the injustices in the world. To get alongside the rejected, the outcast, the poor, the persecuted, the starving and impoverished, and speak in their defence. To hate that which is evil and Overcome evil with good. The perfect antidote to all that is WRONG in the world - is all that is GOOD, as seen in Jesus.

10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. When you are totally devoted to something or someone, nothing is too much trouble, in fact more than that, you desire is to please your brother. That's real love and when its genuine, it's real.

Honour one another above yourselves. When Jesus lives within, then 'self' takes a back burner. Greater love hath no man than this than a man lay down his life for his friends'. That's exactly what Jesus did, and that self sacrificial love is only possible to those who are 'in Christ Jesus'.

Jesus Christ by His sacrifice on the cross - showed what He meant when He had said ‘Greater love hath no man than this than a man lay doen his life for his friends - You are my friends if you do what ever I command you’. Love God and love each other with a sincere and true love

11 Never be lacking in zeal...... In the Oxford Dictionary, Zeal is defined as an extreme, enthusiastic of fervent devotion. Zealous for God and each other. .....but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Serving the Lord with enthusiasm is what is needed, not half hearted duty. 'Get all excited, go tell everybody that Jesus Christ is King'.

12 Be Joyful in hope - our first candle was Hope

18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Peace - the second candle we lit

Our third candle last week was JOY The future and eternal hope bring lasting Peace and those two combine to give us the deep seated JOY that we talked about last week.

The fourth candle LOVE If only the world would take the gospel to heart and learn to love with the heart of Jesus. With that kind of love, His people will blossom to the Glory of God. Gods love demands it. Jesus's sacrifice deserves it. In love, God gave His all to us and deserves nothing less from us

You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving That’s what Christmas is all about. God gave His son Jesus because He loves us and because He wanted to. O how we need to be rooted in Gods love and being rooted to cultivate that gift within us, our fellowship and our community.

Tonight in our nativity we will see the Wise Men as they present their gifts to the baby Jesus. Gifts that have meaning -

Gold Gold in the Bible was not so much a sign of wealth, but of worth. Gold in the bible was a precious metal that was used to cover the Ark of the Covenant encasing the promises of God, It is used today as a sign of a binding agreement when couples exchange gold rings at weddings. As a sign of a binding promise

Myrrh a sedative and purifying oil. Remember how Jesus was offered wine mixed with Myrrh to try and ease His pain as He hung on the cross.

Frankincense Perfume now there’s an easy one. I remember when I was a lad, I used to buy mum a little bottle of perfume called 'An Evening in Paris' it was relatively cheap to the well off, but it cost me all I had.I didn’t realise then that the true value of a gift is often revealed not in how much it cost, but in how much it cost the giver.

A bottle of Evening in Paris to David Beckham would be nothing - he’d probably forget the perfume and give you the evening in Paris - Frankincense was a costly ingredient used to make the best perfumes. It was used to make Holy Anointing oil. Thats why the Magi brought it - to anoint Jesus, a symbol of priesthood.

One of my favourite Bible verses is from 2 Corinthians 2:14 - thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? ‘

When I was 15 I started to serve my apprenticeship as a printer at Harry B berry’s printers on Windhill Old Road. At the end of the road was a toilet deoderiser manufacturers and half way between us was John Smiths Jam shop. For part of the week we could smell the aweful stink of the toilet deoderiser factory whilst on another part of the week we could smell the sweet aroma of the Jam from John Smiths.

We got to know some of the workers at both factories - in those days, neighbours used to talk to one another - at lunch time some of the workers came and shared lunch with us. It was OK when the Jam factory workers came in but POOH! when the toilet deoderiser friends came in the stench was awful.

I used to go home on the bus and when I got home mother used to say ‘ and I suppose you sat upstairs again’ she knew because of the stench of the smoke. You could tell what company I kept by the smell that clung to my clothes. If we spent more time with Jesus - the sweet aroma of Christ would cling to us.

I love the story Tony Campolo tells about Teddy Stallard. It was Miss Thompsons first day as teacher of the school. She introduced herself and told the pupils that she would have no favourites and that she loved them all the same. She said it, but it wasn’t exactly true, teachers do have favourites. One lad, she didn’t like. He smelled, slouched, mumbled, but he was very attentive

In his first grade report she wrote ; ‘Teddy is a good boy who shows promise but has a poor home situation’. In his second grade report she put ‘Teddy’s a good boy but too serious his mother is terminally ill, his father shows no interest’.

For his third grade; ‘Teddy is a troubled child his mother died this year he is becoming detatched from realit’y. And finally for his Fourth grade she wrote ; ‘Teddy needs help and needs help badly’. She had the records but unfortunately did nothing about it. At Christmas the Kids brought presents for the teacher wrapped in brightly coloured paper. Teddy’s was wrapped in brown paper with sellotape. Teddy’s present contained an old broken bracelet and a half empty bottle of scent. The other children laughed. Fortunately Miss Thompson was wise enough to show the present to the class. She put the bracelet on and a dab of the perfume behind her ear

At the end of the day Teddy said to the teacher, ‘Miss, all day today, you smelled like my mother used to smell. All day long I could smell my mum. Thats her bracelet your wearing, I’m glad you liked my presents. He left the classroom and she knelt down and cried asking God for forgiveness and asking Him to change her and give her a heart of love and compassion.

The next day the classroom felt differently. It was full of peace Shalom filled the place Love was in that place. She started to love the kids with the love of Jesus.

A few years later she got a letter from Teddy. ‘ Dear Miss Thompson , I wanted you to be the first to know that I’m graduating high school. Love Teddy Stallard

Four years later another letter ‘Dear Miss Thompson, I wanted you to be the first to know I’m now second in my class’ love Teddy Stallard

Another Four years later- ‘Dear Miss Thompson, as of today I am Theodore Stallard MD I wanted you to be the first to know. I’m getting married in July and I would really love it if you could come and sit where my mother would have sat. My daddy died last year and your my only family now.

Miss Thompson went and she sat proudly in Teddy’s mums place. Today, Teddy Stallard is the only family that Miss Thompson has and they look after her.

Miss Thompson dared to wear the perfume of his mum and so to Teddy - she was his mum. She brought love and understanding back into his life. She had more than the aroma of his mum, she had the aroma of Jesus. Spend time with Jesus and let the fragrance of Jesus mingle with the people you meet. Allow Jesus to live through you.

Miss Thompson gave the best gift she could to Tommy Stallard - he showed him LOVE real love. She was the aroma of his mother to little Tommy and that was really appreciated by him - he received her love and then returned that love to her by telling her that she had become the mother he never had

The Wise men brought their gifts to Jesus in gratitude to God for the greatest gift of all - Gods gift to mankind, Jesus Himself God so loved the world that he gave His only son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Christmas gifts choosing the right gifts for your family or friends gets harder every year doesn’t it? The wise men didn’t seem to have a problem - they brought gold, frankincense and myrrh

What can I bring Him 'What can I give Him poor as I am, if I were a shepherd I would give a lamb, if I were a wise man, I would do my part. Yet what can I give Him, Give Him my heart. The source of all love. What gift will you lay at the feet of Jesus this Christmas. God showed us how much He loved us when He wrapped it up in Jesus. That’s the gift - the gift of love

14 December 2014 Third Sunday in Advent;

Two weeks ago we started to celebrate Advent the beginning of adventure - we read the great prophesies that filled everyone with the spirit of expectation that brought hope

1st Candle Hope The prophesies that stirred hope in peoples hearts. No eye hath seen no ear hath heard, no mind concieved what God has in store for His people - in other words, You aint seen nothing yet!

2nd Candle Peace No Jesus - No Peace Know Jesus - Know Peace

This week Joy

As Gabriel visits Zechariah and Elizabeth and also Mary bringing Joy to their hearts that would soon bring Joy to the world that the fulfilment of the promises of the OT are in sight

Luke 5:In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly.

Notice how we are told that in Gods eyes they had all the qualities of people that He could use in unfolding awesomness of what He was about to unleash on the suffering world. They were both upright, of good standing - straight up - we would say today. They were obedient to Gods ways and therefore utterly blameless people. Just the kind of people God looks for to BE His people.

7: But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well on in years.

And so we are told that; when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshippers were praying outside. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.

When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.

He will be a JOY and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,

for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.

Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God.

That means that the wayward people who hear him preach will turn back in obedience to God and be filled with expectation of the imminent coming of the Messiah

And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous - to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Zechariah - although he was a priest - found this astonishing news hard to believe and asked ‘How can I be sure of this?’ the reply was ‘I’m Gabriel and I have been sent to tell you this good news’ Because of his unbelief the angel struck him dumb until the baby was born and the day of the dedication came. Think of it ladies! Nine months unable to talk - how would YOU cope? Zechariah probably took in his stride as men can never get a word in edgeways anyway

Six months later God sent Gabriel to Nazareth, to a young girl called Mary who was betrothed to a man called Joseph. "Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you." . You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end."

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." In contrast to Zechariah, this young girl accepted and replied "I am the Lord's servant," "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

Unlike Zechariah Mary accepted the honour and obeyed God On Wednesday night we watched a modern re-telling of that.

What a contrast between Zechariah the Priest and Mary a simple commoner. One who should have believed without question - doubts - the other who is young and innocent in such matters, believes unconditionally. Obedience plays a great part in the Christmas Story - without the obedience of those called by God to play these most important parts in the first Nativity, Mary, the humble shepherds, the wise men, - one of the greatest events in the history of the world - would not have been able to happen.

Even today, God uses those who are obedient to His will to fulfil His glorious work of redemption.

Lets continue to read what followed; Luke 1:39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me -

Holy is his name. - Mary stayed with Elezabeth for about three months and then returned homeWOW! The meeting of the two mothers to be. Two mothers each bearing a baby who would change the course of history. John the herald of the Messiah and Jesus the Saviour of the world. Mary and Elizabeth would be full of Joy at the privilage that God had bestowed on them to be the mothers of John the Baptist and Jesus the saviour of the world.

Joy - one of the recurring emotions of the Christmas story.

Joyful obedience; as seen in Mary and Joseph and eventually Zech and Elizabeth

Joy in the miraculous; when Elizabeth was blessed with the birth of the baby that she and Zechariah had been praying for.

A joy that was mind blowing; it’s not just the two mothers that are filled with Joy - it’s also the unborn baby John who, when he realises he’s in the presence of the unborn Jesus - leaped for Joy in Elizabeth’s womb. The coming together, the meeting of John with Jesus resulted in JOY.

Let’s be clear about what we mean by Joy - especially when some of us are finding life difficult at the moment - this is a JOY that is deeper than mere happiness a Joy that is the result of an inner feeling of exhultation that is felt deep within when we experience the awesomness of a precious, special happening. The Joy that was evidenced when the one who had been called to be the proclaimer of the Messiah - actually met with the one who was the Coming Messiah. The deep feeling expressed by the angels in Heaven when someone accepts Jesus as their Saviour.

Luke 15:10 Jesus said I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Psalm 68; 3 Let the righteous be joyful, let them exult before God, let them be jubilant before God.

Joy that comes through Obedience to Gods way

Joy is at the heart of Gods plan for human beings. Joy is at the very heart of God Himself. We will never understand the significance of Joy in human life until we understand its importance to God, I think that many of us underestimate Gods capacity for Joy. Joy, the inexpressible knowing that whatever we go through ‘Immanuel’ God is with us.

Martin Luther wrote Jesus came as a Joy Bringer. The joy we see in the happiest child is but a fraction of the joy that resides in the heart of God. The gospel is a joyful message about Christ our Saviour. Whoever preaches correctly preaches the gospel and nothing but Joy. How can our hearts have a greater Joy than knowing the Christ given to us to be our own? The angel doesn’t merely say ‘Christ was born’ but also indicates that His birth is for us by saying ‘your Saviour’ So the nature of the gospel isn’t just teaching the story and life of Christ but also personalising it and offering it to all who believe. No matter how badly it’s preached, my heart hears the gospel with Joy. It penetrates all the way through and sounds wonderful.

When teaching the need for obedience, Jesus said; As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

The world needs to see a joyful church a joyful people

This is the day that the Lord has made let us be glad and rejoice in it Psalm 118; 2,4

Joy is the gigantic secret of the Christian wrote G K Chesterton

When we Joy in the Lord - the world will see the Joy of the Lord in us

Christmas is a time for Joy The joy in a child’s face on Christmas morning.The joy in our hearts as we celebrate the birth of Christ together with our family and friends. It’s a time of goodwill, of meeting up with old friends of renewing of old aqaintances by the sending of a Christmas card.

It’s a time to share with those who don’t have the same privilages as we do. A time to open up our families to welcome those who would otherwise be alone

It’s a time to put past failing behind us, to rebuild broken bridges to herald a new dawn in our lives and get ready for a coming New Year filled with Hope, Peace, Joy and love.

Christmas is a time for JOY when we decide to put Jesus first in our lives Others next and Yourself last.

Christmas is a time for Joyful giving.

God gave us the Joy of Jesus - Lets decide this Christmas to give God the Joy of obedient hearts that have decided to live the way He wants us to and bring Joy to His heart

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with Joy as you celebrate Christmas. For some of us it is a difficult time - a deeply sad time - but thankfully JOY is not exclusive to happiness - JOY is knowing Christ ‘Immanuel’ God is with us to help us cope with our present sadness and bring a future hope of eternal bliss with those we miss.

Second Sunday in advent; Luke 1;8

Today we look at Luke’s account of the unfolding of the story of Jesus’s coming beginning with the fulfilment of the prophesy concerning John the one who would be the voice ‘crying in the wilderness’ heralding the coming Messiah.

When the angel appeared to Zechariah he told him that he and Elizabeth were to have a baby boy who would, as God through Isaiah had said, be the ‘voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the peoples hearts to receive the Messiah, the Saviour of the world’ and you are to call him John

When I was born the first child was nearly always named after the father hence William. The second after some other member of the family - my brother Samuel after Sam who was killed during the war.. Family names were handed down. Not Zecharias son - the Angel told him straight away, 'Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you are to call him John', which means 'Gods gift' or 'God is gracious'.

The same happened when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary - who was told that she would bear a son and He would be called Jesus. Read Luke 1; 26

I marvel at the obedience of Mary - this young girl - who obviously knew the scriptures of old. ‘Jesus will be His name’

During His earthly ministry, in different settings, Jesus gave Himself names that pointed to special roles that He would fulfil. Some of these names refer back to Old Testament prophesies regarding the Messiah. Others were to simply help people to understand Him and who He really was - the promised one - the Messiah.

Jesus’ emphasised His humanity with the name Son of Man, (John 6; 27). Found everywhere in the gospels, yet, only Jesus used it. Jesus said to Zacchaeus ' the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost'. Almighty God came wrapped in our humanity, to share our world, to feel our pain, to share our grief. He wept, He laughed, He grew tired, became angry at man's foolishness, He knew what it was to be hungry and thirsty, Jesus was truly the Son of God, and truly the Son of Man.

When confronted by His accusers at His trial, the High priest asked Jesus if He was the Messiah, 'I am, He replied, and you will all see the Son of Man seated on the right of The Almighty and coming with the clouds of heaven'. Mark 14; 62.

He was also known as 'the Bread of Life' (John 6;35), which referred to His life giving role. Bread, the staff of life, man's staple diet.

After the miraculous feeding of the 5000, the crowds flocked to see Him demanding that He do more miracles if He expected them to believe that He was indeed the Messiah. 'Moses gave us bread from Heaven, how about giving us some of this bread? Jesus replied "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." "Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread." Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry. Bread one of the most important parts of our diet - Bread that builds the body - bread that is vital to our physical growth - here we have the bread from heaven vital for our Spiritual growth.

Another name is the Light of the World Jesus said, "I am the 'Light of the World' (John 8; 12), Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Light, the symbol of Spiritual truth. Jesus brings light into mans darkness. That beacon of Hope that brings light into the darkness of mans doubts. The light who lights our way along the path of Righteousness.

Jesus in the sermon on the mount also said that 'we' are the light of the world, - what a privilage and what a responsibility. As we look into His brightness, we are called to go not just go into the world and reflect His light - but more than that - BE that light to help others find their way.

Graham Kendrick wrote 'as we gaze on His Kingly brightness, so our faces display Your likeness, ever changing from Glory to Glory, mirrored here may our lives tell Your story, Jesus light of the World shine upon us!

Sometimes I feel that we are a poor reflection of what God wants to show to the World, that our little light burns dimly. One consolation is that scripture tells us that 'He will nor quench the dimly burning flame'. Our prayer should be, fan me into flame 'O Lord' that I might shine for You.

Another time Jesus confirmed what God has said through the prophet Isaiah that He would be a shepherd to the sheep. John 10;11 Jesus said 'I am the Good Shepherd' The promised Shepherd of Israel, who would not only tend and lead His sheep, but also seek the lost sheep, and because

One of the most important names Jesus called Himself, was 'The Vine' John 15; 5 the source of all life, and that we are 'The branches'. We cannot hope to be a good Christian if we neglect to stay firmly rooted in Him. We are completely dependant on Him for Spiritual life and growth.

What's in a name? Everything if it happens to be Jesus, Jesus the Messiah, our Lord. In His name, is power, Peter and John realised that when they met the lame man at the gate Beautiful, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth - rise up and walk’ and we are told never to take the name of the Lord in vain, but to honour Him in all that we do.

One of the most awesome and truly revealing names found in the prophesies of Isaiah 7;14 and Matthew 1; 23, is Immanuel, which means 'God with us'. God became man in Christ Jesus and lived amongst us to show us what He was really like - God with us, Immanuel. All the way through His word, God reminds His people that if they are obedient to Him, then He promised not just to be WITH us - but IN us - WOW!

We read last week that some of most important names of Jesus were the ones given by God through the prophet Isaiah

Isaiah 9:6 Wonderful Counsellor, meaning awesome, without comparison, excellent, miracle or wonder worker, and yet in all His greatness - someone you can talk to and you know will listen with understanding and concern and will always give the right advice. 'Come let us reason together ,said God, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow' Isaiah 1; 18.

Mighty God, Almighty God none other than God Himself. Not just ‘Father’ but ‘Everlasting Father’ timeless, Father of all those who come to Him, repent their past and are born again. This is a most powerful name that speaks of love, commitment, recognition that we are members of the family of God - brothers and sisters in Christ - adopted into the family of God.

And lastly, Prince ofPeace, who will govern with justice and peace. O How they needed Peace. The people of Isaiah's day, were governed by the apostate King Ahaz. Judah was in darkness. The people needed to hear the message of hope, of a Messiah would take His people out of darkness into light

Today, it’s no different, all over the world there are people on their guard against the enemy. Soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, wars all over the world. People in fear for their lives, homes where fear reigns, children living in abusive homes. Christians in Muslim countries fearing for their lives. O how this world needs Peace. Peace in our hearts our home, our fellowship. He wants to be thePrince of Peace and bring His peace into our lives. O how the world needs the gift of Peace.

Yesterday, in football stadiums all across the country, players stood to pay respects to the 100th celebration of the awesome truce in World War 1 when soldiers from both Britain and Germany stopped fighting and played football together.

O how this world needs Peace. O how His church needs Peace O how we need to experience His Peace - the Peace that passeth all understanding - Gods Peace.

The world is fraught with a people who cannot live at Peace with one another.

There are families torn in two with disagreements, refusing to speak to one another. There are even individuals who find it difficult to accept themselves. People who need to know the reality of the Peace that Jesus brings. Even in Churches where there are fractions and discontent amongst those who call themselves Christian.

In the closing moments of this service I want us to look at these first two candles - The first one, the candle of hope and the candle of Peace - Let the light penetrate the dark corners of your mind. Illuminate your thinking and when you close your eyes - and as the light still burns in your minds eye and ask God to let that light, the light of Jesus the peacemaker penetrate into your soul.

Ask Him to fill your heart with His Peace - the peace that will dominate you actions, your attitude and your response to others

30 November 2014 First Sunday in Advent Hope

Isaiah 9; Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honour Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan - The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.

You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ....on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.

This is a message of hope for a people who were desperate for good news. no more gloom for those who were in distress I wouldn’t mind a bit of that myself - the last two years have been difficult, loosing Kevin Christmas 2012 and then Beryl this year one - this Christmas will not be easy.

The people in Isaiah’s day lived in battle torn lands where they had had to fight for everything they got. Isaiah talks about the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor,

Today we live in a world that has many parralels - today is not unlike the world of Isaiahs day. We see times of unrest, of uncertainty, many who live in fear for today and see little or no hope for tomorrow. Many live with uncertainty, unemployment, financial hardships, . We live in a world where frightened persecuted people have to leave their homes and seek refuge in foreign lands.

People today, like in Isaiah’s day, need that glimmer of hope, that shred of light that promises a different future. They needed a Saviour to lead them out of despair into hope. Isaiah’s hope was in a promised Saviour. People need hope - direction - a way out - you and I know that they need Jesus. I wouldn’t have been able to cope this year without my faith - without Jesus.

That was what was needed in Isaiah’s day - and so Isaiah speaks of victorious times to come. They wanted Peace - stability - and to attain that they probably expected a warrior champion to come and lead them to victory - instead Isaiah tells them of a man, a Saviour, who is coming to ' tend His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; and gently lead those that have young.

Isaiah tells where the ministry of the Messiah will take place, in Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan - and in Micah chapter 5, God even tells His people where the Messiah would be born "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."

Incredible isn't it and yet even though God prepared His people with the news of the coming of Jesus, they were still taken by surprise! One can hardly blame them.

How can Ordinary man begin to understand the unbelievable, the extraordinary, unless he has been drawn in to share the 'secrets of the Almighty' ?

Everyone loves to be in on the secret. I remember when I used to do mystify people with my conjuring tricks, everyone use to say ‘ tell us how you did it’ Come on, tells us how you did it, I won’t tell anybody else’ As if!

The thing was that God did tell people and although Gods plan was made years ago,

He gave little clues, little insights into what He was doing so that when it did happen, the penny would begin to drop, the pieces of the jigsaw fit into place, folk would read the signs and realise the truth.

The glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it.

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

God gave mankind the picture on the box, all we had to do was fit the pieces of the Jigsaw together to see the mystery take shape before our very eyes. Isaiah, heralded the start of the greatest adventure story of all time. An adventure that would captures the spirit if the people and draw them in to share the adventure.

This is the first Sunday in Advent - the beginning of a most wonderful and exciting adventure. I like adventures. The word Advent comes from the Latin word Adventus which means "arrival." Its the overture to one of the greatest adventure of all time - the coming of Immanuel - God amongst us, to share our humanity and prepare us to share His divinity.

Almost everyone loves Christmas - the trimmings, the tree, the parties, the presents, the cards from family and friends that you probably haven’t seen for a long time - The kids love sending letters to Santa, the excitement of Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning. That’s great - I love it all too

In its truest sense it Advent brings greater excitement as Gods people anticipate the coming of Jesus, the Light and Saviour of the world who liberate His people from the shackles of sin, bringing freedom and New Life to all who accept Him as their Saviour.

You - probably like me - love to go to the theatre to watch you favourite musical.

There you are, youv’e got there well on time, the cars parked, you’ve got your sweets and programme, you’ve found your seats you’ve tucked your coat under the seat and as you settle back in your seats , there’s a sense of expectancy as one by one, the instruments in the orchestra start to tune up and then they strike up with the Overture.

It’s then that we start to feel the excitement knowing that as the familiar tunes start to play - we are in for a good time. We hum along - some around us dare to sing as we all wait for that tell tale bob of the curtain that tells us that the show is about to start.

That’s what Advent is, the overture - to God’s greatest production that as each day comes our expectations are raised and we long for the curtain to rise on what promises to be a most spectacular occasion. Advent is designed to bring a sense of expectancy that ‘something goods about to happen’ as we prepare to celebrate His coming.

It’s also a reminder that just as He came over 2000 years ago, He is coming again and as well as celebrating that first coming - we anticipate His second coming- a stark reminder that just as the first participants of that First Christmas were encouraged to get ready for His coming - today, we need to spend our time not just getting ready to celebrate the birthday of our Saviour - but also make sure that we are ready for His return - the second coming.

Over the last few years in our family Film Nights we have seen Shrek and then Shrek 2 and Shrek 3. In the cinema we’ve had Star Wars 1,2, 3 and 4, just as Michael J Fox went ‘Back to the future’ three times, Advent takes us ‘back to anticipate the future’ as the Christmas Story reminds us not just of the past but an age to come.

Lighting this first candle marks the beginning of another Christmas. The hectic preparations, the cards, the presents, the food, trimming up, the hectic schedule of carol singing - the carol service - we get so caught up in the rush, even though we have known for a while that Christmas was round the corner - we still get caught out and if we are not careful, the reason for the season gets lost in all the frantic rush. I hope that this year its more than that -

I hope it was more than that and that our hearts were stirred to look at the Awesomeness of what really happened when God decided that the only way that Mankind would listen and take notice of Him would be if He Himself came in flesh and became one of us.

Advent and Christmas, if we are not careful, could be just like a re-run of an old movie like the BBC tend to do every year - where having celebrated it many times, we just get caught up in the fast moving festivities - buying and sending cards, choosing presents, buying too much food, singing carols at Sainsbury’s.

On Monday some of us will be meeting to practice the old carols and some new ones to sing at Sainsbury’s in a couple of weeks time. One of them is called ’the Christ in Christmastime’ and says this;

The streets are full of people hurrying along - Buying things and making plans

It’s such a crazy season - such a busy time it’s so easy to forget how it began

You’ve chosen all the presents written all the cards hung the lights around the Christmas tree. But with all the celebrating it’s easy to lose sight Of the star that’s shining down for you and me

Wouldn’t it be great if this year we decided that this Christmas will be different - we’ll give our selves time to stop and think it through as to why and what we are celebrating. It doesn’t have to mean that we don’t do all the usual things like we have always done - it mean that we will give the Holy Spirit time to help us appreciate what GOD did in sending Jesus and what God intends to do in coming again.

So keep your heart in heaven though your feet are on the earth

And hear the greatest story ever told

It’s all about a baby from a cradle to a cross

It’s the story of the Saviour of the World

To give love is the greatest gift of all

To bring hope is the reason and the rhyme

To find Joy and Peace is the wonder of it all

To give Love is the Christ in Christmas time

I pray that we will all see it in a new light, that the age old truth will dawn afresh and vibrantly new as we ask God to let the light of the truth dawn in our hearts.

The candle we lit this morning is the candle of Hope. What are your hopes and dreams this year - better health, more togetherness - that these seats get filled? What’s your hopes and dreams. What is it that will make those hopes a reality - it’s faith - faith is the main ingredient of hope - faith makes things happen - faith brings hopes into focus and turns them into realities.

I said earlier that Advent reminds us also that Jesus is coming back again. When He came the first time - many were just not ready - Jesus is coming again - are we ready?

Think about your friends and family - are they ready for His return - is that something that we should be making them aware of?

The long awaited Messiah that Isaiah heralded would come to bring hope to an oppressed people. To show mankind a better way - the way of holiness. Forgiveness for the past and a bright hope for the future. Over the next few weeks we will remind ourselves how that was accomplished in the birth of Jesus, how the word made flesh, showed by example how God intended His creation to live in harmony with God and with one another.

The next time Jesus comes it will be a different story. Paul’s letter to Timothy sets the scene of the last days when Christ returns.

Mark this, there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying the power- have nothing to do with them.

That’s a picture of the world we live in today and sadly in many cases a picture of the church - wealth and prosperity etc. Where do we stand? Do our lives speak volumes for God. Do we show God that we love Him and serve Him in the way in which we live our lives

We sang ’Come Thou long expected Jesus’ It’s not just a song about the coming babe at Christmas, I believe that it speaks of His coming again - this time to take His ransomed, saved, redeemed and obedient Church to live with Him in Glory forever. Are we that people - are we ready - are we the people He wants us to be - a people who live for God and one-another. Not a people who seek after wealth at any cost. A people who put pleasure before commitment to God.

I find it sad that we live in what is supposed to be a Christian country but very few have a real experience of Christ. When I think of the wisdom and scope of Gods plan in coming to live in our world in an effort to call the world back to the Fathers heart - I feel sad that the very people He commissioned to help Him in this have failed Him so much that the light of this world shines brighter than the true light of the World.

In the closing moments of this service close your eyes and ask yourself how you would feel if Jesus were to come back right now. Ask Jesus to impart His light into your heart to set your heart on fire with expectation that when He comes again - you don’t want to be left out. Think about all these empty seats and the people out there who live empty lives - the light of Christ could fill both. The light of the truth of Jesus could fill those empty lives with hope and these empty seats with people. We live in a dark world and it is our responsibility to bring the light back.

People out there - need to know that the is hope and that the answer to their problems won’t be found in anything or anyone else but Jesus. We need to put Christ back into Christmas. The greatest witness to the truth of Jesus is the way that we live our lives.

You and I - His church should be a beacon light that lives the full gospel message. That people can see something of the beauty of Jesus in our lives.

The way in which we cope with life, even through times of adversity - because Jesus is real to us. It’s up to us to us who have received the light to take that light into the world we live. To live without Christ is to live without Hope. The world needs a sure and certain hope

I know that I wouldn’t be able to cope with what I have to do without the knowledge that Jesus is with me and will never leave me and that in Him I have the victory over what, to those without Christ, would be an impossible life. People need the Lord this Christmas - the good news is that He is available - and the Lord needs you and I to share that good news with them.

The hymn were going to sing in closing moments is the Graham Kendrick classic ‘the Message of Love’ which encourages us to take Hope and Peace out into the streets. To invade the rush in people lives with the Peace that only Christ can bring. Lets pray that the light of Hope and Peace flow from us out into the darkness of this world to put Christ back into Christmas.

23 November 2014 John 4; 1 - 30 Meeting with Jesus

When the Samaritan woman came to draw water from the well, little did she realise that this day would be the turning point of her life, today she was going to meet Jesus.

'What brings you here this morning? You might think that that is a rather impertinent question, It's not meant to be. I only ask you this, to stimulate a response in your own mind, 'Why have I come'? To many, simply coming to the Army on Sunday , is an important, enjoyable part of their routine. It's Sunday, and this is the day that we go to church. Fine!

This woman, she came to the well as a routine part of her life. She came as she always did, with no more expectations other than to draw water, as she'd probably done for a long time. Little did she know, that today, she was going to go from that well, a different person to the one who came to the well.

What are your expectations when you come to the meeting ? Good fellowship,a good sing ? well judging by what folk say when they leave the meetings each week, we usually seem to score full points for that. Do you come because you are comforted by what we hear in the testimonies and the word. Are you here because you know, or have heard that they have a good time at the Salvation Army on Sunday evenings? Or is there more to it than that? I hope so!

Dare I say that if you leave here, the same person you were when you came in, then you've missed the whole point of our meeting together. Often I start my pray with Lord I pray that we may leave this place a different person than when we came in. If we all came hungering and thirsting after the truth, expecting to hear the voice of God, then I believe that we shall go home different people. God‘s word tells us, that when someone meets with Jesus , then he or she will never be the same again !

The Samaritan woman came only to satisfy her immediate needs, knowing full well that she would have to come today, and tomorrow, the day after that, and the day after that. She knew that her thirst could never be assuaged on a permanent basis, that her need could only be met temporarily.

Whilst that is true in a material sense, in a spiritual sense it is possible to come here this morning, thirsting after fulfilment, and go home from here having been filled with that living water that only Jesus can give us. I went to see Richard Barrett in intensive care yesterday - he couldn’t talk but gestured to me that he was thirsty would I give him a drink. I put the straw to his lips and he drank the water that would quench his thirst, but only for a short while, then he would need to drink again.

The things of this world, can only quench man's thirst for fulfilment, enjoyment for a short time, but Jesus offers a permanent solution to the needs of mankind, that can only be realised when man stumbles on the truth, and that truth is Jesus, the living water that not only refreshes those who drink it, but becomes a perpetual spring, that flows out to refresh others - the great thing is that that living water is available here this morning.!

This Samaritan woman didn't realise who she was talking to, they spoke on two different levels. She only saw the things that divided and separated them, the fact that He was a Jew and she was a Samaritan.

Today, many people, miss out on knowing the truth, because when they look at the church, as represented by some who call themselves 'Christians' but who's lifestyles don't measure up to that ideal, they ‘don’t get the true picture’

Sadly, in so many way's God's Christians today have become poor adverts for His church. Instead of being drawn by the unity of the body, the world outside see a people who are no different from themselves, in fact probably worse, after all , 'they don't profess to be what they are not'. We as God's people need to be aware of the dangers to the Kingdom that division and divisive actions bring.

The woman went to the well, in just the same way as so many people have gone to church this morning, with very little expectations. She probably came as she had done so many times before, but this time was different, she met Jesus.

Jesus turned this familiar, regular trip to the well, into a wonderful, heart searching, once in a lifetime experience. She came expecting it be the same as it had always been, to do what she had always done, but this time it was different, this time she came face to face with Jesus and her life would never be the same again!

Maybe you thought that this meeting was to be like all the others you have been to. Well ! I believe that for someone this morning, today, will be different to all the others meeting you‘ve been to, Why? Because what you are hearing is just for you, not the one sat next to you, God meant you to be here, because He has something to say just to you.

For someone here, this morning is the time that Jesus is speaking to you, revealing those hidden things, those doubts and uncertainties, and is going to deal with them. You are not here by chance, you are here because Jesus wants to meet with you, He wants to change your life.

They say that the secret of a good preacher, is that when he speaks, you wonder how it is that he knew so much about you. What would capture the Samaritan womans attention would be when Jesus began to tell her things that no-one else could have possibly known outside her circle of friends. Make no mistake about it, Jesus knows you better than you know yourself. We can never hide those hidden things that we don't want anyone else to know about, from Him. He knows everything their is to know about us, and He still loves us.

The woman said " I know that the Messiah is coming, and when He does, He will explain everything to us." Jesus said " I am He ". What He’s saying is, ‘Here I am, what are you waiting for ?’ and what He went on to say - impacted her life

Following the discussions between her and Jesus, she went and told her friends what He had done and said. She became a witness who wanted to share what she had learned from Jesus - so much so that we are told in John 4; 39, that 'many of the Samaritans from that town believed on Him because of the woman's testimony.

They then went to find out for themselves if what she’d said was really true. Jesus stayed with them for two days, and in that short time, many more came to believe in Him. The living, vibrant testimony of the woman impacted her friends minds and led them to seek Jesus for themselves.

The truth is that the positive changes we see that have taken place in the lives of people who have had an encounter with Jesus, their attitudes, their reactions, are but a mere reflection of what has really taken place, a shadow of the substance. The change in their lifestyles, is only the outward show, the outward expression of something far more wonderful and exciting, that has taken place deep inside their hearts.

In meeting with Jesus, they’ve 'seen the light', the light that exposes mans selfishness, man's sinfulness. They’ve met Jesus, and their lives will never be the same.

Only when a person seeks to know Jesus for themselves will they ever stumble on the secret of life, real life, abundant life. Kenneth Taylor when he paraphrased the Bible, put it this way, ' In Him, Jesus, lie all the mighty untapped treasures of wisdom and knowledge'. Colossians 2;3

The only way anyone can experience this 'treasure' is to seek to know Jesus for themselves. Mankind will risk all kinds of dangers in it's quest for knowledge and fulfilment in this life, like seeking the source of the Nile, climbing to the top of Everest, journeying to the Moon.

The only way to 'The Father heart of God, to the source of all mystery and the secrets of life and death itself, is to know Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord!

This is the theme of John’s gospel - The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus put flesh on the word of God - He read the script and put it into action so that people could SEE what God was really like and seek to follow in His Footsteps.

In the gospel of John he brings the story of the life of Christ to life. In his second book, John writes to the young churches encouraging them to Know Him and make Him known to others and in his third book, we have further Revelation of the Joys waiting for those who have chosen to follow in His ways.

The woman at the well listened to Jesus, realised who He was, decided to change her lifestyle and then set off home to spread good reports of her meeting with Jesus. No one could fail to see the difference in her life now.

John 4; 42 'They then said to the woman, " We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world !"

The word became flesh in her and was impacting their lives too. They had seen the impact, the difference that Jesus had had on this woman, and took the next step, of finding out for themselves. They came to Jesus, listened to Him and found the truth for themselves.'

No one can do it for you, an encounter with Jesus has to be personal. And it can be for each one of us.

He wants to make a difference in our lives that will be evidenced to those we meet and live our daily lives with. He wants us to leave this place a different person than when we came in - a person on fire for Him - a person burning with the desire to know Him more and so make Him known to others

16 November 2014 Love in Action Romans 12;9

Last week looked love in action by acknowledging the sacrifice men and women had made in the world wars and thye sacrifice of Jesus on the cross - showing us extreme love of God towards us. This week we take a deeper look at the first - LOVE

If ever there was a Biblical outline of doctrine and rules and regulations for Christian living, Romans 12 is it. The letter is written to the churches at Rome who as yet have not come under Apostolic ministry. We have in Romans a careful and systematic theological essay that sets very clearly the basic gospel of mans sinfulness, Gods plan of redemption, Salvation through Jesus Christ, redemption through faith.

Jesus shared just two simple commands that totally embraced the ten commandments -Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and love one another.

That’s why Paul calls for Christians to have a deep practical love within the fellowship that extends to those outside the fellowship. Friendship in the local fellowship had to be worked at. To be real and meaningful, people had to love one another.

There would need to be an openness, an honesty between them that was sincere and respectful. There needed to be opportunity for interaction, of praying and workings together and of being there for one another. This love relationship would also be extended 'outside what was a predominantly Gentile church' towards the Jews.

Through this process of living and sharing together, the fellowship would grow closer together and their community life would speak volumes to those outside the church.

We shared earlier this year how the second letter of Acts is a pretty good insight to the new lifestyle of the early church. Acts 2:41 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

That’s Church - I remember when David and Dorothy Murdon were our officers how they brought a breath of fresh air to our Corps with what was their revolutionary way of preaching, teaching and living out of the gospel.

Like the letters that Paul sent to the various Churches, David and Dorothy brought an excitementa sense of expectation that until they came had been sadly lacking. Gradually, instead of just going to the Army to satisfy your social needs, you came to meet with God. Instead of just meeting together in Army activities, we began to seek God together, to explore what life was really all about, and to grow - together.

They taught that love must be sincere and invade every area of our living.

Before they came, I just went to church but after a few weeks under their ministry, I began to realise that; You didn't GO to Church, you had to BE Church.

Church wasn’t just the building, the place you went to on a Sunday - Gods intention was and is, that we, the people of God, in our coming together are to became the living body of Christ in the world today. To continue the work of Jesus in reconciling the world back to God, bringing the prodigals

I began to realise that ‘Where’ you meet is of lesser importance to ‘Why’ we meet together. We come to a Loving God with the desire that something of His love will fill our hearts and cause us to share that love with one another

The song from The Lion King ‘can you feel the love tonight’ could almost be the Christians theme song as we meet together. Meet like that and the love we share will spill out into our lives and the people we meet daily. When we meet like that - is it any wonder that when strangers come into our Church they can ‘feel’ the love as they sense the presence of Almighty God

In other words, We don’t just Go to Church, we are called to BE churchWe don’t just READ the word, we are called to LIVE the word.

The Word of God that teaches us that in order to know Him and live the life - there had to be a turning away from the sinful ways of the world and a turning to God.

As I wrote this last night I was reminded of the Christmas concert that Beryl and I went to a few years ago at the Idle Primary School when someone had mis-printed the song title in the programme. As they’d typed the copy, they had put an O where it should have been an I- a simple mistake as the I is next to the O on the keyboard- and so ’I don’t know how to LOVE Him’ became I don’t know how to LIVE Him .

I said to Beryl - that’s so true - some folk who call themselves Christians don’t know how to LIVE Him. Living Him is the best way of Loving

Of course the correct words of the song are also true in respect that some folk really don’t know how to express their love for Him and therefore fall short of expressing love of God in their own lives. Gods word through Paul's goes straight to the point

9 Love must be sincere. When you say Love is all I have to give - mean it and follow it with action. That’s love for God, Love for one another, Love for our neighbours, workmates and friends, . That’s why Jesus said ' They shall know you are Christians by your love'.

God is love and the depth of our relationship with God is often revealed by the sincerity of our love towards each other. 'Only as I truly know Thee can I make Thee truly known'. God is love, so it follows that if we have a right relationship with our Father God, then He will be seen in our lives. God who Is Love will Be love in us.

I was thrilled to read a letter that one of the orphaned children that Joshua met in Uganda wrote for him before he left last year. Dear Joushwa I love you with all my heart. I will not forget you. I have write this letter when I am telling you that I love you I will miss you. How are You? For me I am fine. I want you to be my best friend. How old are you. How old is your sister. How old is your brother. Is your mother OK Thank you for all you give me -Please write back

Then he draws a star and the four symbols on the armbands that they gave. They only met for a short while but that’s all sincere love needs

YES! Love must be sincere - but there’s more; 9 Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Gods people are called to speak up about the injustices in the world. To get alongside the rejected, the outcast, the poor, the persecuted, the starving and the impoverished, and speak in their defence. To hate that which is evil and Overcome evil with good.

The perfect antidote to all that is WRONG in the world - is all that is GOOD, and that can only be seen in Jesus.

10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. When you are totally devoted to something or someone, nothing is too much trouble, in fact more than that, you desire is to please your brother. That's real love and when its genuine, it's real.

10 Honour one another above yourselves. I remember how on the day of the Bradford Fire at Valley Parade, one of our neighbours and his wife went as usual to the match and sat together. As soon as he saw the flames, panic set in, and he was off like a shot leaving his wife to fend for herself. She was shocked. It was almost as if the self survival button had been pressed and nothing, and no one else mattered.

I maintain that to 'Honour one another above yourselves' is impossible outside Christ.

When Jesus lives within, then 'self' takes a back burner. Greater love hath no man than this than a man lay down his life for his friends'. That's exactly what Jesus did, and that self sacrificial love is only possible to those who are 'in Christ Jesus'.

I once told you a story about a tragic fire in a country village. It was a dry summer spell when a cottage caught fire. In a few seconds, the thatched roof and timbers were ablaze. There was no fire engine in that remote village and the villagers stood around helpless.

Suddenly a young man who had just arrived cried out ‘What can we do to save the people inside’. and when no one responded, he jumped into the flames and darted into the house. A moment later he emerged carrying a child under each arm carefully protected from the flames by the young mans coat that he had taken off and wrapped around them. He himself was badly burned.

The parents of the two children died in the fire and there was much sympathy for the two children who had been orphaned in this terrible fire and several people in the village applied to adopt them. When the judge arrived to decide who should adopt the children, there were just two applicants. One the local squire, a wealthy man who lived in a fine house and the young man who had saved them from the fire. When the judge asked him what right he had to ask the court for the children, he didn’t answer with words but simply held up his hands that had been badly burned and scarred in their rescue and let them do the arguing for him.

The love of God as seen in Jesus is evidenced by the cross on which Jesus gave His life. Because Jesus gave His life on the cross - The great High Judge - God gave Him the right to adopt us, as Children - back into the family of God.

Adopted - born again Christians and as such filled with Gods love. As disciples of Jesus we are expected to follow His example and love God and one another with a sincere and true love.

11 Never be lacking in zeal..... In the Oxford Dictionary, Zeal is defined as an extreme, enthusiastic of fervent devotion. Zealous for God and each other....but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord.

Church at its worst, is full of nominal, luke warm Christians who get excited at all the wrong things, usually for all the wrong reasons.

Church at its best is ablaze with people who get excited about God, love one another and want to spread that love into the community.

To keep your Spiritual fervour implies that you have one in the first place. Serving the Lord with enthusiasm is what is needed, not half hearted duty. 'Get all excited, go tell everybody that Jesus Christ is King'.

12 Be Joyful in hope - that’s the easy part Here’s a difficult one - be Patient in affliction When I think of the things that have happened personally in my own family I think that we have had more than our fair share of 'affliction' I don't know if we have been patient in our affliction? Without faith and confidence in God we would have buckled by now. Thank God that we have a God who cares and listens to us through he vehichle of prayer - that’s why we need to

be faithful in prayer' O What peace we often forfeit, O what needles pain we bear - all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. I feel sorry for the people who don’t know Jesus and for whom this life is all there is.

One of my favourite verses of Scripture is this one ( reading from the Living Bible)

Ephesians 3;17 May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God's children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God himself.

Sunday 9 November 2014 Remembrance Sunday

John 15; 9: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ‘Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

You are my friends if you do what I command.

This morning we pay tribute to the men and women who gave their lives fighting against tyranny and evil so that we could live our lives in Peace. Many people today will be sad when they think of the price their loved ones and themselves had to pay in the hopes of gaining peace

Every Remembrance day I cannot help but wonder what the people who gave their lives in that quest would think if they were able to come back for a day and see what mankind has done with that peace. I ask myself the question ‘would they think that sacrificing their lives for the sake of what we have today was worth it?

Every Easter I have the same thought ‘How does God feels when He looks at the world and sees the way in which they repay His love and ultimate sacrifice in giving His son Jesus to die on the cross - for what!

The men and women of all the terrible wars over the last 100 years were prepared to lay down their own lives so that their loved ones back home could live the rest of their lives in peace and harmony with each other. Instead, over the years, because of man’s sinfulness that breeds lust for power and dominance, mankind, instead of building on the peace they died to bring, has seen greed and selfishness develop injustice, intolerance the result being that mankind is still embroiled in wars across the globe.

Christ, by His sacrifice on the cross made it possible for all men to live in peace, without having to fight for it. The prayer of the nation this morning should be that we would each seek to harbour love for our fellow men, to live in the Joy and Peace that freedom brings. My prayer was that we should live lives that are worthy of their sacrifice.

Thousands of faithful soldiers in the Kings army fought for freedom from injustice, intolerance, greed, selfishness, oppression. Amazingly just one man, Jesus, waged war against the forces of evil - one man against an army of evil - one man filled with love for His fellowmen. Gods Love.

That’s why I believe God raised up the Salvation Army to fight against sin and injustice to bring God’s peace and love to the world and one man, William Booth had the vision to enlist men and women, boys and girls to become soldiers in God’s Army to fight against, sin, greed, selfishness, injustice and intolerance with the weapon of Love.

We would do well to pay tribute to some of those faithful soldiers of this Corps, who have died in that service and have gone onto receive their reward in Heaven.

Soldiers who were prepared to put their own lives, dreams and ambitions aside to love others into the Kingdom. People we thank God for and people who’s lives have impacted ours. Soldiers who have gone on to their eternal reward but who faithfulness still influences us today. Gods Soldiers who have been promoted to Glory

My Mum, Mrs Walton, My wife Beryl, son Kevin, Bertha, David Barratt, Tom Levitt, Jim Basford, Mrs Metcalfe, Nellie, Oates and others who whilst not being soldiers still played their part like Ken Levitte and Raymond McHugh.

They are now with the Lord they loved and served and Just like we owe it those brave soldiers who fought to gain our peace in the world wars - so too we owe it to these brave soldiers of Christ who have fought the spiritual fight against evil to herald a Kingdom of peace and harmony, God’s Kingdom into our world.

Every year they lay wreaths at the tomb of the unknown soldiers - thank God that in God’s Army there are no unknown soldiers - He knows them all.

The Bible reminds us that one of the greatest expressions of Love is when’ like God’ are prepared to give everything, for those that we love. ‘God so loved the World, you and I, that He gave His only Son Jesus, that whosoever believeth in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life. That's how much our Father loves you and me.

God showed the extent of His love to us in that He gave His son like a sacrificial Lamb to pay the price of sin, to make freedom in Christ a reality.

If you’ve ever been a blood donor you might remember how you were given a little card and printed on that card were the words; 'He gave his blood that others might live' That's exactly what Jesus did, when He was nailed to the cross. They crucified Jesus, but His sacrificial love gave new life to so many. The love that He showed was to live on in the lives of those for whom He died. Those who accept His love, become themselves channels of that love.

He was nailed to a wooden cross, and today that cross stands as a reminder of that sacrifice. As we look at an empty cross, it really says to each one of us 'I gave My life for you what are you doing with it? To many the cross is an adornment, like the poppy is for so many. Yet it speaks of sacrifice, of love

In the tragic way in which 70 years after the last war, man still cannot live in peace with his fellow men and seems to survive on conflict rather than harmony, in a worlds of mistrust, injustice, intolerance, greed, so too I find it extremely sad that even though Jesus died for mankind, they still reject Him and His message.

What's He going to say when they meet Him? will He heave a big sigh and ask 'Why? Why didn't you love one another. Why couldn’t you live in Peace with one another?

Why did you waste your life, when I gave mine as a ransom for yours?

What about me and you this morning? I wonder if we dare ask ourselves, am I living the life that Jesus wants me to? Does my life bring Glory to God? Am I concerned about the people I spend my time with at home, work or in the marketplace. Does the love of God shine through me?

For the last few weeks we have been looking at how God, in Christ, made Himself known to us and called us to be His witnesses in the world in which we live. We’ve looked at how God wants bring the truth to others through us. How God wants to share His love through us and help others to seek forgiveness for their past and enter a new relationship with Him that will bring love, Joy and Peace into their lives.

That's why John wrote these words that we read earlier; "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ‘Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.

John 15; 9: There we have it - Love, Joy, that brings Peace

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

When we receive that love and want to share that love with others, then Christ’s victory is sure - it’s VE day. That brings Joy to the fathers heart and Joy into our lives of the . Joy is freedom in Christ that leads to lasting Peace in our hearts.

No-one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us

God is made flesh in our love. The more time we spend in His presence, the more like Him we shall become. And just as the Son is the fathers radiance, so too we too can brightly reflect the Fathers radiance, the light of Christ that will shine into the darkness of this world.

We thank God for love, and the Joy that real love brings. And we thank God for the peace that knowing Him brings to each one of us. Love, Joy and peace are freely available to each one of us, and all we have to do is live a life of obedience to God. Love brings Joy and lasting peace

Joy for God the Father is to see His children set free from the shackles of sin and back in the Fathers arms. Joy for God’s children is having the assurance that Jesus loves us and cares for us. Joy is freedom in Christ. Freedom in Christ brings lasting Peace

Nothing will grieve the heart of the Father more than the rejection of His Son, by those for whom His Son died.

Was it worth it? If those who gave their lives could come back and see the way in which mankind lives today - it would grieve them terrible. To think that they gave up their lives with their families, their wives and children for the world of today.

Imagine then how God feels when He sees the apathy of the world and the way in which they live their lives as if there were no tomorrow. Was it all worth it?

We shall have failed and the blood of our dearest will have flowed in vain if the victory which they died to win does not lead to a lasting peace, founded on justice and good will

Yes! we could make it so -

If we made the effort to reach out in love to one another ,

If we tried hard to share the joy that knowing Jesus brings in our lives with those who as yet are desperately seeking purpose for their lives.

If we could learn to live at Peace with one other,

then our fellowship, our village, our world - would be a better place to live

Christ died to bring us back into the family of God where we belong so that we could live in Love - Joy - and Peace

That’s what its all about. What are we going to do about it

Song Make me a channel of Your peace

2 November 2014

At Harvest we looked at how one should be able to tell that we are Christians by the fruit we bear. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.

A week later we looked at Pauls letter to the Church at Ephesus where he reminded them that to be able to grow and be fruitful we had to leave the past behind us and move on. ‘to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4: 22-24

Paul was telling them that as far as their past is concerned, forget it, put it behind you, put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness’.

If you remember I said imagine Michael Owen when he signed up for Rio Madrid from Liverpool still wearing the old strip - it wouldn’t be allowed. Worse still imagine a match between Rio Madrid and Liverpool and Michael Owen, even though he wore the Madrid clothes still playing for his old team Liverpool. In fact, Michael Owens wore so many different shirts before he retired in 2013, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle, Manchester United, Stoke City and England

What Paul is saying is this; You can’t sign up for God and still wear the old clothes. I think that what he’s also saying implying is that some Christians although wearing the new clothes are still playing for the old team! It’s easier to look like a Christian today than it is to be one.

Jesus called His disciples to ‘leave their nets and follow Him’ To be like Jesus is to put off the old way of life, make a clean break with our past with all its faults and wrong doings and put on Jesus Christ. The promise is there for those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour that He will fill us with His Spirit to make us like Him.

God had told His people through the prophet Isaiah to "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

God took them out of bondage, set them free and set them on course to the promised land. A foretaste of what He would do when He sent Jesus Christ to make a way possible for us all to be released from the bondage of sin, forgiven ( set free) and put on course to live a spirit filled life that would lead us on to the promised land - Heaven to live with Him forever - WOW! See I’m doing a new thing - can’t you see it?

The awesome truth is that Jesus came to show us what life was really all about and then died on the cross to give us new life - He arose from the dead to show us that the resurrection to new life was possible and He also said that He would come to live within us, put His spirit within us to the make us like Him. That’s the new way - no longer striving on in our own strength but He would put His Spirit within us to enable us live a life that would please Him.

Last week we had just put our clocks back an hour, I said how many of us would want to put the clock back a year or so but we can’t. All we can do is remember.

November is a month when as a nation we look back at important events that have brought us to where we are today. Remember Remember the 5th of November Gunpowder treason and plot. Next Wednesday there will be bonfires all over the land. And then next Sunday is Remberance Day when we remember the ones who lost their lives in the two World wars. Remembering is one things but thank God we wouldn’t want to go back to those war days.

It’s the same Spiritually we wouldn’t want to go back to being the person we were before we came to know Jesus. It’s time to look forward to all that God has in store for you, for those you love and for the fellowship here.

This morning we are going to read a letter that Peter wrote to the early day Christians where he reminds them of their calling and their future in Christ.

2 Peter 1; 1-15 FromSimon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is short-sighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eye-witnesses of his majesty.

Peter’s not reminding the new converts of their past but of their future.

When I was a child, I sometimes did things I shouldn’t and dad would say ‘What did you do that for?’ I don’t know’ I would say. Sometimes he would ask me to do something and I would say ‘I forgot’ then dad would say ‘I’ll give you something to help you remember’

I thought great! he’s going to give me a tape recorder or at least a pen and paper - what did I get? a smacked bottom. When I complained to mum she would ask ‘And why did you get a smacked bottom’ ‘when I told her she would say ‘ well - it worked, you didn’t forget this time did you - and you certainly won‘t forget.?

With the special commission of Jesus, Peter, ‘the Rock on which I will build My Church’ could have acted all proud and self righteous, but no, he points to the Righteousness of both the Father and the Son through whom all the new converts had received a faith 'as precious as ours' that’s Peter and the other Apostles.

A Precious Faith, precious because you can't buy it, and even if you could, you couldn't afford it, the price has already been paid by the sacrificial death of Jesus.

You can't earn it through good behaviour, no amount of good works will make it possible, it's a free gift, like the Queens birthday honours, it's bestowed upon you by Royal Charter. You have to be 'chosen by God' for the privilege.

To ensure that we remain strong in our faith, Peter reminds us that 'His Divine Power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, how? Through 'Knowing Him' that’s the key, knowing Him who called us to be His own, and who invites us to 'participate in the Divine nature' Wow! can you understand that, can we begin to grasp what Peter is saying here?

This is dynamite, this is mind blowing, this shows the extent of God's love and commitment not just to Peter and his hearers, but to you and me today. To participate in the divine nature. WOW! To think like Jesus, to act like Jesus - to Be like Jesus. Yesterday I received the November Caring for Life magazine - Imagine my shock when I read the front cover - ’Being the Saviours hands and feet here on earth’

Just what I said last week and what Peter is suggesting here.

We are precious to Him, He loves us so much that He was willing to die for us, He gave His life for us, He then emptied us of self and sin, and poured His Spirit into our emptiness, filling us with Himself, that when He appears, we shall be like Him.

I find that 'Awesome' He wants us to become partners in the Kingdom, shareholders in the family firm, beneficiaries of all the promises of God, inheritors of the Kingdom. 'A living hope' that can never perish spoil or fade, kept in Heaven for you' who through ‘Faith’ are being shielded until the day He comes again. (1Peter 1; 3)

So important is this that Peter says 'even though you know it', I'm going to continually remind you of the glorious privilege that is yours of being a child of God, 'I want you to know how precious you are to Him'.

YES, you will fall down, YES, you will fail, YES you will let God down, but know this - HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU OR FORSAKE YOU, WHY? because you are PRECIOUS TO HIM, you’re His adopted child and He loves you.

What has God done to enable me to live a life that is pleasing to Him, a holy, godly life in a depraved and corrupt world?

How has God made it possible for us to 'shine like stars' in the darkness of this world?

This is how; by making it possible for us to really know Him in Jesus.

When Phillips said 'show us the Father' Jesus replied 'He who hath seen me, hath seen the Father'. He fills us with His Spirit, makes it possible for us to get to know Him. 3 'His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness --through our knowledge of Him'. 'For this reason', Peter says, ' make every effort to add to your faith',goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

Down the years, all these 'additives' that Peter lists here, have slowly been lost from our lives and culture. As all the goodness that the creator put there in the first place, has been slowly eroded. Over the years there has been a sorry decline in morals, a lack of discipline, commitment, loyalty and trust. The things that Peter talks about here have gone from the world, and are getting scarce in the church.

Here is a pen portrait of the man and women within whom Christ' lives. Those who have set their minds on the things of the Spirit and are determined to live in the power of His new nature. The portrait of a transformed man begins with faith and culminates in love, for without faith you cannot begin to please God and everything He does in you is to enable you to live more fully in His love.

1 He has a firm faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,. that will not be shaken by circumstance or situation.

2 He is determined to show the goodness of God in his life.

3 He is increasing in his knowledge of God

4 He exercises 'self control' , to curb his old selfish desires, so that he will give no place for the desires of the old nature and enable him to resist temptation.

5 He will persevere in his dependence and trust in the Lord, even when the going is tough, when the fire is hottest, when he is up to his neck in the troubled waters of life.

6 He manifests godliness by letting the beauty of Jesus be seen in his life. By allowing the word of God to become flesh in him. And lastly,

7 Our love for God should be seen in the extent of our unconditional love for each other and those around us.2 Peter 1; 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is short-sighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins'. 'Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and You will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

WOW! A rich welcome in Heaven. That's the Father flinging His welcoming, loving arms around you, putting the best robes around you, making you feel special. That's the Father weeping with Joy as the prodigal comes home. That's the promise of our Father who has prepared the most sumptuous banquet for each one of us - That's a rich welcome.

You might feel that Peter makes it all sound so easy, like shaking a six and moving round the Monopoly board as if there are no other players. Trouble is, real life isn't like that. It's not easy. There's always someone on your back, trying to get you down. We get shaken by situations and circumstances in our lives.

The old devil doesn't let us forget our past sins so easily does he? He knows our weak spots, he knows exactly where to plunge the knife in. When the fires hot and the storms of life are up to our necks, it's hell. It's not easy, but one thing is for sure, God knows, God cares, and God loves us all the same. It's all about trying, going for it sticking it out, persevering, persisting. And if you do, then the reward is there just for you!

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

That’s more than merely knowing about Him - It’s all about knowing Him -Jesus the faithful and applying the additives to faith that will make us more like Him -

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.

I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live

WOW! It’s remembrance day a week earlier

Song; Knowing You Jesus

Sunday 26 October 2014 Bible Ephesians 4;22 - 5; 1,2Last Sunday was our harvest when we read that you can tell the tree by the fruit it bears. We looked at how one should be able to tell that we are Christians by the fruit we bear. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control. On Tuesday a minister friend from Uganda put the same reading on his face book, listing the fruit of the Spirit as being the qualities of God - but left out patience. I replied that even though patience isn’t often one of the best qualities of a Christian I was thankful that God has exercises patience with me.Last Sunday we also looked at Paul’s letter to the Church at Ephesus where he reminded them that to grow fruitful in the exercising of our faith we had to leave the past behind us and move on. ‘You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4: 22-24 In farming terms, Scripture warns about looking back. Jesus told His disciples “No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Paul is telling the new converts that as far as their past is concerned, forget it, put it behind you and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness’.Last night we put the clocks back - I thought then, I wish I could put it back a few years - back to how things were when Kevin and Beryl were here - I guess we can all do that about our loved ones- and that’s Ok - it’s not what Paul is saying here. Paul is warning them not to hanker after their old sinful ways, but to let go and let God take control. ‘I have decided to follow Jesus - no turning back, no turning back.The cross before me the world behind me - No turning back, no turning back’.I said last week that its easy to put a uniform on to give others the impression that you are what your dress says - you can even fool yourself into believing its true - but when the uniform comes off - what are you really like?When I talked about this ten years ago, I said imagine Michael Owen when he signed up for Rio Madrid from Liverpool still wearing the old strip - it wouldn’t be allowed. Worse still imagine a match between Rio Madrid and Liverpool and Michael Owen, even though he wore the Madrid clothes still playing for his old team Liverpool. In fact, Michael Owens wore so many different shirts before he retired in 2013, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle, Manchester United, Stoke City and EnglandWhat Paul is saying is this; You can’t sign up for God and still wear the old clothes.I think that what he’s also saying implying is that some Christians although wearing the new clothes are still playing for the old team!It’s easier to look like a Christian today than it is to be one.Its easy to wear a WWJD arm band its harder to put it into practice - It’s easier to wear a cross around your neck than it is to stand up for what it meansIt’s one thing to have a car sticker, a fish or even a dove, it’s another thing to actually live your life by the statement you are trying to make. Jesus called His disciples to ‘leave their nets and follow Him’ To be like Jesus is to put off the old way of life, make a clean break with our past with all its faults and wrong doings and put on Jesus Christ. The promise is there for those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour that He will fill us with His Spirit to make us like Him. A favourite song was Spirit of the living God. Fall afresh on me, Break me, melt me, mould me, and fill me. Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me. Have you ever worked a potters wheel? before you can do anything you have to break the clay down, add water make it pliable, shapeable, throw it on the wheel and then carefully mould it into the shape you want - thats what God wants to do with our lives.We ended last week by looking at what can happen when we live God's way? Galatians 5; 22 He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard— things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, We develop a sense of compassion in the heart, We develop a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, but able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. How? we could do no better than try to adopt the BE - Attitude as shown in chapter 5 of Pauls letter to the Ephesians 1-21 Be imitators of God therefore as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.Make sure you seek to know what the Master wants. His word tells us plainly. Godwants us to love Him with all Our heart, mind and soul and love each other with the same love that Jesus had when He was willing to lay down His life for us. I believe that God feels our love when we are prepared to love one another. When we allow God to touch somebody’s life through ours God touches somebody’s life - when we share comforting words to those who suffer, God touches somebody’s life - when we give to those less fortunate than ourselves God touches somebody’s life -when you drive those who are trafficked to a safe house.Jim Reeves sings a song that says I just called to say I love you. The sad truth is that today, that’s all some folk do - call on the phone or worse still, text to try respond to someones troubles when what they really need is to feel the love and that means by being there for them. The world cries out don’t just ring me up or worse still, text me to say you love Me - show Me’ I wonder, If God wants to touch someones life through you?Tony Campola tells a story of a housewife who was washing the dishes one morning after her children had left for school. She looked at one plate. She stared at it for a long time and asked over and over again, How many times have I washed this plate? How many times have I dried it? How many times will I wash it and dry it again? She then set down the plate, took off her apron, packed a few of her belongings, and left. That night she called home to tell her husband that she was all right but she could not come home again. From time to time over the next several weeks she would call just to see how her husband and her children were doing . But she would never tell them where she was, or listen to her family's pleas for her to come home. The husband hired a detective to search for her, and after picking up a few leads the detective tracked her down. She was in another state, living in a small apartment over a luncheonette where she had a job as waitress. Her husband set out immediately to bring her home. When he found the place where she was staying, he knocked on the door of her apartment. She opened the door, saw him, and didn't say a word. She went into the bedroom, packed her belongings, and silently followed him out to the car. Then in silence he drove her back home. Several hours later when the two of them were alone he asked her, Why didn't you come home before? Over the phone I begged you to return. Why didn't you come? The wife answered, ‘I heard your words, but it wasn't until you came for me that I realized how much you cared and how important I was to you‘. The same can be said that though the prophets of the Hebrew Bible may have tried to tell us about God's great love, we never really got the message until God showed up among us. He broke into history, and became one of us, showed us his love. A love that has been there since the beginnings of time. Don’t just say you love someone, really love them and show it by your actions - that’s what God did in and through Christ Jesus. And that’s what God wants to do in and through me and you God really cares for you and me and for those out there who as yet don‘t know HimHe loves, cares and protects those who love Him and desire to do His will. One of my favourite portions of scripture from the Old Testament is this;.I love Isaiah 43; this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; That’s exactly what God did when He sent Moses to lead the Israelites out of bondage and set them on course for the promised land. He took them through the Red Sea by parting it. and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. Following on from Moses, God appointed Joshua to continue the journey and when they came to the Jordan river - He led them through that too. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Shadrack, Meshak and Abednego in the fiery furnace were unharmed - protected by God. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. WOW!WOW!That was the promise and God was faithful. I believe that God is still the same and when we go through trials and problems that would threaten to pull us under - He is there lifting us and supporting us. When trouble hots up and we are in the thick of the heat - God promises to be there with us and see us through.And there’s more- God says 18 "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. I would suggest, Count your blessings name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done and will continue to do if we remain faithful to Him.See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. As we said last week, in the dry difficult days of our lives He provides living water that replenishes and gives new lifeDon’t dwell on the past - it’s time for Carpe Deim ‘Seize the day’ move on At the beginning of the film ‘The Dead poets society‘, Robin Williams plays a teacher who in an attempt to lift his pupils out of the doledrums of failing to meet up to the challenge of the day by dwelling on the past - takes his pupils into the great hall and stands before a trophy case. He points at photographs of the Schools football team from a previous term. ’If those players could speak today they would tell you to ‘Carpe diem, Seize the day’ As I said earlier, you can’t put the clock back - and in many ways, you wouldn’t want to - maybe it’s time to look forward to all that God has in store for you, for those you love and for the fellowship here.As we read, God has promised to be with us when we go through lifes difficult times both when your out of your depth or feeling the heat - He will make a way through the desert times and the times we feel alone - we are precious to Him. I am doing a new thing Jesus wants to make a difference in your life so that you can make a difference in someone else’s life. A favourite song of mine sung by the Fisherfolk Group around 1960 based on Isaiah 43 puts it this way; Because you are precious and I love you You whom I formed for my Glory You who are called by my name I have gathered together You are my witnesses I have chosen you that you may know and believe Me You are my servants for the world to see I am the Lord - I’m above you It’s time now to lay aside the former things a new day has dawned -do you see I’m making a way through the wilderness and rivers to flow through the desertFear not - for I have redeemed you - I have called you by name - you are mine.Wow! How precious we are to God - how precious is God to us?

Sermons

Sunday 19 October 2014

Matthew 7; 16: Jesus said; By their fruit you will recognise them. When I was a lad, to come into the hall at harvest time was an awesome occasion - before you would be a table spread with all kinds of fruit and vegetables. Apples, Pears, Plums, Oranges, Pineapples, bananas, Kiwi fruits, Coconuts, all resplendent in their various colours and shapes. Large and small baskets of fruit and all around the table would be sheaves of corn.

Today we bring tins - Why? Because the fruit wouldn’t last - they spray so much on them to enable them to grow them in vast numbers - then we bring them home to our lovely warm central heated houses that after a day or two - they go brown

The best place to see a vast array of fruit is as you walk into Morrisons - there they are - just waiting to be picked up and bagged. Lots of different fruits, So many that you’re spoiled for choice. Apples of every variety, Cox’s, Royal Gala, Granny Smiths God said didn’t He that while the earth remained the seedtime and harvest would continue.

I guess that if we looked at the numerous trees and bushes that all these different fruits came from, we might be hard pushed to tell the name. ' I wouldn’t be able to tell you the difference between an Apple tree and a pear tree - it’s the fruits they bear that give them away - you will know them by the fruit they bear.

Jesus said - By their fruits you shall know them' said, this time talking about those who profess to know Him. You’ll know who are genuine in the way they live.

The world today is so used to 'cover up jobs' or veneers, that it even expects things not to be the genuine article. Not so in the Kingdom of God, God gave his all and expects nothing less in return. It’s the Christians responsibility to show true, genuine Christianity to a veneer world. Even the advertising world have cottoned on to the importance of worth, value, honesty and integrity - As evidenced in slogans like 'If it doesn't say Kellogg's on the outside, then it's not Kellogg's on the inside'

It's so easy to look the part, even in these days, to appear 'clean, upright, righteous a good Christian, even holy, whilst inside, not being all that we appear to be.

You have heard me say many times, that we live in a 'veneer world' where all is not what it appears to be. Furniture that has a thin veneer of the real thing covering cheap chipboard. The reason being of course that the real thing costs too much.

'Veneer Christianity' is a phrase I coined a few years ago and I guess that for the Salvationist, it's easier than for most other Christians, because the uniform shouts out to others what we profess to be. The truth is that you can so often look the part but when the testing time comes - thts when the truth is brought out into the open.

It is so easy to fool the world, and eventually fool ourselves into believing that we are what we profess to be, but we can't fool God, He sees right through the veneer. He sees right to the heart of the matter.

We all know the story of how on one occasion when Jesus was hungry, He saw in the distance what appeared to be a fig tree, a source of food. It looked good - it had all the promise of being a source of food for Him. The trouble was that as He got closer to the tree, He saw that the fig tree was barren, no fruit. Jesus was rightly disappointed, the fig tree gave all the right signals, but when the testing time came, it was exposed as a fraud. There is no room for pretence in the Kingdom of God. That’s why Jesus said Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognise them

The world needs to see Christ in you and me. How? By the way in which we live our lives. The fruit we bear. If we are truly rooted in Christ - it will show just like the fruit of an apple tree is evidenced in the apple. People we spend our lives with need to see the beauty of Jesus - the fruitfulness that comes from the living Christ within.

In Timothy we read that one of the saddest indictments of the Church in the latter days is that many so called professing Christians would have 'a form of godliness, whilst denying the power'. They look the part but fail to live up to it.

God wants His people to be genuine through and through. I would guess that He is sick and tired of pretence.

In His day, Jesus encountered many pretenders

Pharisees who looked every bit the part in their fine regalia, yet were nothing more than hypocrites.

Teachers who held back the truth in favour of popularity among the people - like many do today

False shepherds who neither fed nor led their sheep into green pastures.

If the church had remained true to the truth that Jesus taught and lived by His example - then people wouldn’t have the cock-eyed view they have of the church today. To BE like Jesus this should be our aim., To BE church - to Be what we profess to be.

On Wednesday night in our Bible Fellowship we have been looking at how the church today has in many ways, failed to live up to the demands of Jesus and how many Christians have failed to live the life that Jesus taught and therefore have failed to bear good fruit.

Yesterday at the induction of the new minister of Bolton Villas, his father spoke about the sad plight of the Church today that fails to preach and therefore live by the word of God - something I have been sharing this year. God is certainly trying to get through to His people the seriousness of not knowing and so not abiding by His word. A church that is conforming to the world when it should be conforming to the word.

No wonder Jesus said, By their fruit you will recognise them. Matthew 7; 16:

Just as a tree can be easily identified by the fruit it bears, so too should the Christian Church be able to be recognised by the fruit it bears.

John the Baptist, when preaching in the wilderness urged the people to

'Repent,' and then to 'bear fruit in keeping with repentance' (Matthew 3;8).

As Christians we are called to come to Him, be joined to the vine and bear the kind of fruits that shows that we are a repentant people that have been forgiven by God and want to live lives that honour Him. To BE like Jesus. To let the word, Jesus become flesh in us.

Ephesians 3; 19 May your roots go down deep into the soil of Gods marvellous love.

Rooted and established, in order that we might bear fruit that is worthy of Him.

Jesus said "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

God provides His word, the seed, and as the seed of His word takes root in our hearts, the power of that word should bear fruit in the lives of ordinary people like you and me. In order for the fruit of His word to flow out of us and spread throughout the world, God gives The Holy Spirit who lives within us, so that Gods word, bears fruit.

What then is the fruit of the Spirit? Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, Joy ,peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Galatians 5; 22

Notice, what he says, 'The fruit, is' not fruits, there is no 'pick any two of nine' here.

If the Spirit of God lives within you, then you grow into that kind of person. As the word of God takes root in our hearts, then the world will know that you are Christians by your love, by the way in which you reflect the Joy of knowing that God is with you and is able to bring His peace into your life, even when times are difficult.

As born again Christians we’re called to show patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentle in our dealings with others and full of self control.

We are told that a bad tree can’t bear good fruit.

If we are impatient with our friends, unkind, unfaithful, harsh and let our impatience get out of hand, then we can’t be as good as we think or hope we are. The awful truth is that when we do that, then we come under the wrath of God. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. The truth is - A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,

Jesus said; This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.. . . . . Stay rooted in Christ and let His love shine through you and people will see the beauty of Jesus in you and by fruit you bear they will recognise that Christ lives in you. -

What happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, Gal 5:22 Message

In a moment we are going to sing about the faithfulness of God to us. We are going to bring our gifts to the altar - perhaps that’s a good opportunity to come and kneel here at the mercy seat and give you life to God or maybe re-dedicate your life to God.

During the singing of the third verse do that and let God know the desire of your heart is to be rooted in Him so that you can bear good fruit that others will see and want for themselves.

Sunday 12 October 2014 Last Wednesday at Bible fellowship we read one of the visions that Ezekiel had ( Ezekiel 47).

It was about the river of live that flows from the throne of God. A river that gives new life into every area that it flows. The vision showed how powerful that river is for in the vision it stimulated new life, new growth on it’s banks - so powerful in it’s life giving force that it flowed into the dead Sea to bring vibrant life there also.

As it flowed it got deeper from ankle deep to knee deep, to waist high until it became a mighty flowing sea capable of swimming in.

As we read about that vision, we equated it with the Church and it’s people. Some who like, little children, like to paddle in it’s affairs - other older ones are content to settle for knee deep - content to stay where they are ‘thank you very much’ - they’ve gone as deep as they intend to go. Then there are those who are very cagey as they see the waters get deeper and are not too sure if they are ready to get in the swim of things.

Of course many folk get very involved in the social activities of the church and would see themselves as being ’deeply’ involved but the river that flows from the throne of God is more than that - it’s a spiritual life giving powerful ‘Life motivating’ river that flows from the very heart of God into the very heart of the believer.

A spiritual river that first offers cleansing to the penitent and like all waters it is capable of lifting us and sustaining us to receive more of Gods infilling.

Jesus used this metaphor when He spoke to the woman at the well and told her that the water that God could give her would not only sustain her in this life but become in her a perpetual stream capable of flowing out from her life into the lives of others. This is not just a means of maintenance but more a powerful spiritual life giving force from God that empowers and equips us for life.

This morning we are going to look at another of Ezekiel’s visions that reveals more of the life giving power that comes from knowing God. It’s a vision that shows the life giving power that is available for the church - that’s each one of us here today.Bible reading Ezekiel 37

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me to and fro among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, `Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!

This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you,

and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise,

a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' "So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet - a vast army.

WOW! Just as the river that flowed from the throne of God to empower the Church this earlier vision sees the Church as being lifeless, no hope - dead. The promise is that God will take the lifeless church and breath new life into it restoring His church to what He intended it to be - His powerhouse.

God will breathe new life into the body which is His church in the same way as He breathed life into the first created being Adam. This first step for the church was the breath of life from God.

God gave Ezekiel the promise of restoration, "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Once again I will yield to the plea of the house of Israel and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep, as numerous as the flocks for offerings at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD."

Following the promise, God then showed Ezekiel what was holding the people back from moving forward by taking him into the valley of dry bones.

Ezekiel could have looked at the problem and thought that the situation was hopeless.

God showed him the valley of dry lifeless and dead bones - a sad but true picture of the state of Gods chosen people. The challenge came ‘Son of man, can these bones live?"

Ezekiel probably looked at the seemingly hopeless and impossible situation all around and said what many leaders would say looking at their own lifeless churches

‘God only knows’. That’s just what Ezekiel said "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know."

Then came the startling command from God - "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, `Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!

Saying to His people, open your ears - listen carefully to what God is saying -

This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you,

and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "

Looking at the state of the church today I could well imagine God is screaming out to them- ‘trust Me, seek Me, know Me and capture the vision and Yes I will put new life in your dead and lifeless churches - how? by breathing new life into your lifeless bodies.

The breath of God, the life giving breath of God - just as God breathed life into to the lifeless Adam - the crucified Christ, the church at Pentecost . He will bring His new creation to life and ‘then you will know that I AM the LORD’ - this is restoration

Ezekiel did as the Lord said and WOW!

Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, `This

is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' "So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet - a vast army. So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise,

a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

The Excuse for their inactivity was this; Our bones are dried up - our hope is gone - we are cut off These are the living dead - people who think that they have life.

God responded by promising to give then new life by opening their graves and lifting them out, like He did for Lazarus, like He did for Jesus.

The Church today has sadly grown complacent and lethargic in terms of Kingdom Growth - and by church I mean all the different denominations that there are today - I believe that today just as in the days of Ezekiel, God still cares about His body - the church - you and me.

Just as then, God promised restoration by breathing new life into them and putting His Spirit in them to give then New Kingdom Life. So too, today God offers the same.

I believe that that’s what God wants to do just for His church today - I believe that that’s what God wants to do that here at Idle Corps.

Listen to what Salvationist Phil Wall says in his book ‘I’ll fight’ ‘ Rather than being battle -hardened warriors we have become cushion -padded ponderers, reflecting on the niceties of our religious systems and customs whilst the real battle goes on out their. We have shaped our theology to sanctify our comfort orientation.

Cushion padded ponderers - Wow! Instead of Battle hardened warriors.

This is the Salvation Army birthed to make war against sin and injustice in our world and instead have to deal with fights and differences in the church rather than battles outside.

There are the conservatives who wallow in the nostalgia, turning memories of victories past into the cause of defeats present and future. There are the charismatics who have invented the health and wealth heresy that labels difficulty as the ‘work of the enemy’.

Practically nullifying memories of past victories by the inactivity of today. Charismatics who have preach a false idea of the prosperity gospel who preach that if your going through hard times then that’s the work of the devil in your life

Somehow we believe that the Spirit was given to merely bless us, anoint us, empower us for our own benefit. Scripture is clear when it says that the Spirit blesses us so that we can bless others. Tragically this comfort orientation has heralded the demise of many would be warriors who turn away at the point of ‘cost’ choosing the way of least resistance and missing the opportunity for victory and advance. ‘No pain, no gain’ is so true.

Why is it Lord, that I tend to see the things I cannot do

Instead of trusting in the grace that comes to me from You

I want to see Your Kingdom grow, I want to do my part

So grant a vision, plant a dream for growth, within my heart

And when You show Your will to me, I’ll do my best to say

‘Whatever You demand from me - my Lord, I will obey’.

If we want to capture the vision of all that God intended our lives and this fellowship to be. If we want this fellowship to grow under the mighty hand of God and impact the community where we live, we need to start listening to God, adjust our aerials to capture the vision of what God wants to do in our lives and in His church.

What kind of Christian would you see yourself. I’m not asking you to look at other people and evaluate - judge - form an opinion of how you see them. No I want us to look honestly at ourselves and ask the question ‘Spiritually, am I alive to the gospel and energised to do what I believe God want me to do’ or am I more like those dead bones needing the breath of new life that only God can give.

Am I a vessel open to God and experiencing the life giving water of life that flows from His heart enabling me to witness to others about His forgiveness and saving Grace - or am I just paddling in my own safety zone.

We then need to have the guts to be honest and if we need to, to open up our lives to His amazing enabling that will help us to be obedient to Him and do what He says.

Have we caught the vision of all that God wants to do today in His church

Where there is no vision, the people perish.-- Proverbs 29:18

One couple lived in London 130 years ago. For the first 10 years of their marriage, the man, especially, was in a quandary: What was God calling him to do?

Then his wife, a skilful Bible teacher, was invited to preach in London. While they were there, he took a late-night walk through the slums of London's East End. Every fifth building was a pub. Most had steps at the counter so little children could climb up and order gin. That night he told his wife, "I seemed to hear a voice sounding in my ears, 'Where can you go and find such heathen as these, and where is there so great a need for your labours?' Darling, I have found my destiny!"

Later that year, 1865, the couple opened the "Christian Mission" in London's slums. Their life vision: to reach the "down and outers" that other Christians ignored. That simple vision of two people, William and Catherine Booth grew into the Salvation Army, which now ministers through millionmembers in 91 countries.

Sunday 28 September 2014 130th Corps Anniversary 2014 It’s such a privilage to share our Anniversary with so many special people.

Many of whom have played a special part in the development of this Corps in the time that you were members here at Idle.

I’m old enough to remember at least, the 60 years since I became a senior soldier in 1954 and even some of the years before that when my mother brought me here in 1947 - Sixty seven years from a Sunday School member to today, nineteen of them as the Commanding Officer.

We’ve had some great times together from Sunday School with Bertha, Singing Company with Nellie, Junior band with Sydney, Songsters with Horace Grant and band with Birdsall Barker and after lunch today there will be a chance for you to look at over 250 photographs of those times and some of the special people we’ve share them with. Lets start with one of our most popular songs; To God be the GloryActs 2; 42 They ( that’s all of three thousand new converts to the Christian faith who had responded to the sermon of Peter on the day of Pentecost and been filled with the Holy Spirit) They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Over the last few months since Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, we here at Idle have been looking at the way God birthed His Church as detailed in the Acts of the Apostles - how it was important that Gods people shared a togetherness that strengthened them and helped them stand firm against those who were rejecting the new Christian way.

Their togetherness was vital to their growth and witness to the world. That way God made sure that His church started out on the right footing - it was so important to make sure that the Church started out right. As I look back over the history of Idle Corps one thing stands out to me and that is the togetherness that we as a fellowship shared.

As youngsters we would all meet together in our friends homes - open houses just like the early church - where you could share a meal together and bond in your Christian faith. I loved Sunday teatime at the Cusworths, the Corps cadets at my mothers in Town Lane. We learned about the bible at Sunday School, 10 in the morning and 2pm in the afternoon, as we grew we started to go out and share our faith in the openairs at 10am and 6pm on the Green. We would spend busy Sundays together, Holiness meeting at 11am, Praise meeting at 3pm and the Salvation Meeting at 6.45. We thought of nothing walking a mile or so to the open airs in the thick snow - having to blow warm air into our instruments to stop them freezing up- WOW.

Luke say Every day they continued to meet together Wow we could even match that in the 50‘s 60‘ and 70‘, Those were busy days - your whole life revolved around the Church. Even though people worked long hours, 48 hour weeks, we still had time to meet together almost every night for some meeting or other wether practices or meetings. Like the New Testament Church, we loved to spend our time being together worshipping, serving and enjoying our together experiences.

Just as in the New testament pattern for Church - They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. God blessed those who placed their faith in prayer, so too God has amazed us over the last 19 years in the way He has answered our prayers- more about that later.

For me, the formative years I spent growing up as a young soldier and then a senior soldier certainly served to keep me in the right place where I could be nurtured and sheltered from the temptations of the world - the Army was a strict place to be in those days. But their came a time in my life when God had to show me that I didn’t really know Him as He wanted me to.

I had married my sweetheart Beryl and we had our first chid, Kevin Nov 1964 and then in April 1971 we had Catherine - it was about this time that I had to go into hospital as they had found I had a malfunctioning Kidney and needed an operation.

I was told that the last time they did a similar operation was about 30 years before.

I had the op and was taken back to the ward to recuperate. Unfortunately the kidney wouldn’t word on its own and so they had to install a pump at the side of my bed that controlled the water output and the circulation and purifying of the blood. It was a noisy machine and it was there for over three weeks and so they decided to take me down to operate again to try put the fault right.

I remember Beryl came to see me and asked me if I’d prayed about it -‘I’ve prayed till I’m sick of praying, there’s no -one listening to me‘ I said. Much later, looking back, couldn’t believe I’d said that. That same night, two officers, new to our Corps, David and Dorothy Murden, came to see me. David asked me if he could lay hands on me and pray for healing. I said yes, not believing it would make any difference.

I was due to go down for the second operation the next morning early. The white gown was neatly rolled up on the cupboard next to the bed and a sign ‘Nil Orally’ placed above the bed. They prayed - and then left.

The next morning I awoke to an un-eery silence. The pump had been moved, it was 8.30am and I had been allowed to sleep in. When I asked what was happenning the nurse said, ‘somehow, your kidneys have started to work on their own - you don’t need the operation‘.

I felt ashamed of myself - I knew it was the prayers of faith that David and Dorothy had prayed - it was certainly not my faith. I remember crying out to God ‘Lord I’m sorry - I want to know You like they know You‘.

After I had been allowed home and was well enough to venture out, I went to the hall and knelt at the penitent form every night for a week seeking Gods forgiveness and praying the prayer ‘Lord I want to know You like David and Dorthy, I want to know you as you want me to’ and on the last night I felt the awesome presence of God and danced all the way home. That was the beginning of my new journey, I’d been re-birthed, born again and I was now a different person.

I remember leaving the band that I loved and sitting in the congregation. But this was all in God’s plan as one Sunday afternoon God led me to read a verse of Scripture Jeremiah 29 which said I would leave but one day come back ‘for the plans I have for you are good said God‘. I didn’t understand at the time that God was taking me out for a year to open my eyes to what was happening in His Church at that time. I believe He led me to start a new group that would accomodate other people that He was taking out of the formal churches to show them that He had further plans for their lives too. And so the New Life Fellowship came into being and God gradually opened my mind to Spiritual things that before I had not fully understood.

A year or so later, God put me in hospital for another operation during which some of the fellowship, under Gods guidance moved on to other ventures. When I came home, God led me and the rest of the Fellowship up to the Army. The Corps had now only a few soldiers and the 14 comrades I took withy me swelled the number. The officer suggested that we take it in turns to lead the meetings. Shortly after that Betty Matear came to probably check us out and see if it was worth keeping the Corps open.

But God had it all in hand, after a few months, Betty asked Beryl and I if we would become Divisional Envoys - along with two others who had come with me from our New Life Fellowship, Ray and Pamela Powell. We prayed about it and in 1995 Beryl and I became the Idle Officers and Ray and Pamela became the officers at the Stanningley Corps..

We began to grow fast in those early days as God brought people into our fellowship. Just like our scripture said, God added daily those who were being saved

Over the years since we took command, God has blessed us with many awesome and inspiringly encouraging answers to prayer. Just as at Pentecost we read, Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

The first miracle was when a young boy called Christopher who wore calipers on both legs, came out one Sunday morning to share how he was afraid. I asked him why, He told us that next Thursday he was going to see a specialist who wanted to put a steel rod down his spine. I layed hands on him and prayed that God would heal him.

The following week Christopher came into our meeting - no calipers on hios legs and with a great big beam on his face. He came out to share with us that when he saw the specialist, he was told that he didn’t now need a steel rod in his spine as that his calipers could come off. He jumped in the air and shouted ’I’m a normal little boy now Jesus has healed me- I can even wear trainers which I’d never been able to do before’ There wasn’t a dry eye in the place that morning.

The second miracle was when one Sunday evening a stranger, a lady, came into our meeting. I welcomed her at the door and noticed that she looked rather sad. I asked her what was matter and she told me that her new baby grandson had been born a couple of weeks ago and was in intensive care as his lungs were not working.

I asked her what his name was so that we could pray specifically for him in the meeting. ‘dam’ she said.

I went into the officers room prior to the meeting to ask God to help me to pray and give me the words say that would be in line with His will. As I stood to pray, the words came ‘Lord as you breathed new life into the first Adam - in Your mercy breath new life into baby Adam.’ Two weeks later she came with the news that he was home and she had told her daughter how we had prayed for him. The parents came and asked me if I do his dedication. Two weeks later the hall was full as we dedicated both Adam and his older sister.

I remember how God gave me the vision for to build a new Community hall - we had just spent all our money on restoring the present Worship hall after the side walls were parting company with the main building. The awesome thing is that as we went along with the vision, God provided all the money to do it.

We needed new Chairs and received an estimate of £6500 - we had a prayer meeting about it and the very next day I received a telephone call from a complete stranger who had been walking down Hollings hill and felt he wanted to give some money to the Salvation Army - I gave him my address expecting a cheque for a tenner but WOW! A bankers order arrived for £6500, the exact amount we needed.

Last year we needed a new Roof on the Worship hall - the estimate was £170 000.

Amazingly, God had it all in hand - I received a letter from a local solicitor informing me that a gentleman had died and as I was the Executor of his will I would have to deal with his estate. I couldn’t believe it, Executor of whos will?

It turned out that Nineteen years ago, a man who used to pick his girl friend up from the over sixties meeting had asked me to be a witness to his will which he had just purchased from the Post Office. I’d agreed - not realising that I had signed to be executor of his will.

It took a week to clear his flat, deal with the funeral arrangements and send all his financial contents to our auditors in London. Imagine my shock when informed that his estate would cover the full amount of our building repairs, £170 000.. Our God is indeed an awesome God

Today I believe that we are a together fellowship whom God is going to use to build His Church and if we stay true to Gods word, He will bless this fellowship. God needs a together people to stand up for Him and work together to herald His kingdom

Togetherness I believe is the key to a healthy strong and growing Church. Together with God and together with each other. In fact, Jesus condensed the whole of the Law into two commands ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbour as thyself.’ WOW! That’s a personal command and also I believe a together command

What makes a great Church is one that is made up of people who Love God together and together as a fellowship, love one another as much as they love themselves. That would be the best advert for the Church if people outside could see the way in which there is harmony, togetherness and deep sense of love - That’s why Jesus said ‘They will know you are Christians by your love’.

Not by your uniform, your dog collar, the cross you wear around your neck, the dove you have in your coat, the sticker you have in your car or even the big bible you carry under your arm - nothing will speak as forcibly as the love that we have for God, for one another and people out there.

The Great thing about the early church was that they were FIT and ready to go for God. F - Forgiven -they had repented after listening to the stirring message of Peter at Pentecost. They were I- indwelt as God blessed them with the gift of the Holy Spirit and T - they were a transformed people by the power of Almighty God

They were Faithful, Inspired and Together - FIT to be called the people of God.

Is that the church of today - is that me -is that you? Are we FIT and raring to go? Forgiven, faithful, Indwelt and Inspired -Transformed and Together

I thank God for you all - for the parts you’ve played in my life and in the life of this fellowship. God has a purpose for this Corps - there’s no way God would have supplied the money for the new building, the chairs, the decorations, the roof - we might not be big in numbers yet but I believe that if we stay true to Him, seek His direction and continue to work together then He will bless us with growth as He did in the New Testament Church - God added daily those who were being saved.

I can’t wait to see what He has in store for us tomorrow. We thank God for bringing us this far and say ‘Watch this space’ I pray that the Lord we love will bless you all and continue to use you to build His Kingdom where ever you serve Him

During the meeting we prayed for the work that we do in the demanding field of Human Trafficking. Two of our soldiers, Frank and Jean are heavily involved in that shared something about that. We then took a collection for the Salvation Army’s Human Trafficking programme and collected £100.

Sunday 14 September 2014

Today was a special day for Casey the beautiful adopted daughter of Beckie Hague who we dedicated to the Lord. The hall was packed both upstairs and downstairs and everyone joined in the meeting with a great enthusiasm and verve. The children, many fostered, some with physical and mental disabilities danced and sang the songs with real energy - especially ‘Our God is a great big God’. Even though some of the children couldn’t read the words, or even speak the language, that didn’t stop them joining in the actions - it was an uplifting meeting. Obviously with so many young people there, the sermon was very short.

Mark 10; 13 -16 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

Jesus loves children - and while He was here physically on earth, He didn’t see children as a hindrance, I don’t even think He minded their noise - their energy - I have no doubt that Jesus loves to hear the voice of Casey every Sunday morning.

He wouldn’t stop little children coming to church because they were noisy and might be a distraction as happens in some places today- instead Jesus would encourage them I’m sure that many churches today would be a more welcoming if congregations had His attitude. Jesus put His arm around them and blessed them.

He valued them for their innocence and simple uncomplicated view of life.

He loved their innocence, their uncomplicated way of seeing things as they are - and accepting without complication, the things that many adults find hard to understand looking at them as adults often do through so called educated enlightened minds that have little space for ‘Faith’.

Jesus said I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

I believe that when Jesus said ‘The Kingdom of God’ - that He’s not just talking just about Heaven’ - He’s talking about the Kingdom of God that begins here and now,

the way we live, who we look up to as Lord of our lives - this is the awesome Kingdom of God as distinct from the selfish Kingdoms of this earth.

Sadly the World today has gone a long way from how God intended His creation to progress. God created a lovely world and intended that as people we would be citizens of a loving world where people loved Him and loved one another. An unselfish world

full of loving, caring, understanding people. Instead of the selfish greedy world it’s become.

The Kingdom of God Jesus is talking about begins in the here and now - and a child, brought up in a loving caring Christian family is open to such a Kingdom.

They don’t have the complicated mind of an adult who finds it difficult to accept what his ‘educated’ mind sees as unbelievable, impossible - they have the capacity to believe by faith what adults find difficult.

That’s what I believe Jesus meant when He said ‘anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it" Why? because the loving ways of God’s Kingdom are foreign to the Kingdoms of this world.

It’s about having faith in our Heavenly Father - trusting Him - like a child has to his or her earthly parents - because we don‘t have all the answers. It’s about retaining that childlike quality of innocence not just seeking for head answers but rather choosing to accept what Father tells us by faith and believe from the heart. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

If only we had retained our childlike qualities. If only we had continued to trust in the things that we were taught at Sunday school - then the world would be a better place -

We would all be better people - but sadly as we grow up we become less trusting and more sceptical. If only man hadn’t been so rebellious and gone his own way.

Why do we as adults complicate things - why can

’t we accept as a child does, the things we can’t understand - why do we find it hard to exercise faith in what the world sees as impossible and improbable. When will man realise that God is above our human understanding.

With God all things are possible and to those who have faith to believe that, God is faithful. In Gods Kingdom there is room for everyone without exception.

I love the way that God blesses and is able to use those who come to Him with an uncomplicated childlike faith - people who simply say - ’here I am Lord, I love You and I want to live a life of love and be used by You to help others believe in You.

The Kingdom of God is open for the whosoever - everyone - no-one is excluded.

God sees above mans limitations - Christ sees beyond any physical disability man may have and in Gods eyes we are all enabled to be of service to Him.

I think of Nicky Vujicic - a lad born without arms and legs and lives a more active life thanmost of us - His childlike faith enabled Him to determine that not having any limbs was going to hold him back. He dives, he swims, he surfs the waves, he does most things that we would find impossible - he gave his life to Jesus and today, as a young man, he is a world wide evangelist who addresses large audiences and has already influenced over 300 000 people to ‘become as little children and accept Jesus Christ into their lives’.

David Ring does the same, a man born with Cerebral Palsy - all the excuses to hold back - yet he is a powerful man of God. The important thing about these people is that they don’t just preach the Good News, they live it just like Jesus did.

God loves us all and wants us to be citizens of the Kingdom. Kingdom people who care for one another.

We’ve just dedicated Casey back to God and promised to nurture her in the ways of God. I believe that if we help Casey to grow to love Jesus and learn all about Him - then God will bless her life and use her - if He isn’t already doing so - to bring others into His Kingdom.

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these - that’s everyone who chooses to exercise a childlike faith and believe in Him.

The choice is yours

Sunday 7 September 2014Last Sunday we read Peters letter to the suffering persecuted Church - a letter he wrote to encourage and strengthen the persecuted church. They needed lifting up - they needed to be filled with the confidence that God hadn’t left them to struggle on alone. They needed to knowthat God was with them in their struggles and that He would never leave them. I know how they must have felt - I guess we all do when terrible things happen, when we can’t understand why things happen as they do - It happens to us all at sometime in our lives - we all ask ‘Why Lord’ and its at such times as these - the low times in our lives that the evil one sees as an opportunity to put doubts in our minds.

It happened to David the great Psalmist - not once but many times. The Psalms are a wonderful collection memorable words that most people find comfort in. Even the man in the street would be able to quote some of the verses like ‘The Lords my Shepherd’ - but there are many Psalms where the frightened, the disillusioned, the desperate David cries out to God.

The first 20 or so Psalms are the prayers of one who is going through a particular difficult time in his life -even people around him are shouting ‘Where’s your God now David’ The devil is a very subtle and uses every possible down time in a Christians life to get him to loose faith and question God.

Psalm 3 O Lord how many are my foes, many rise up against me and are saying ‘God will not deliver you

Psalm 4 Lord answer me when I call, give me relief from my distress

Psalm 5 Lord, consider my sighing, listen to my cry for help

Psalm 6 Lord be merciful for I am faint, my soul is in anguish

Psalm 13 How long Lord will You forget me Lord - Forever?

Psalm 22 My God, Why have You forsaken me - I cry out for you by day but You don’t answer me

As David cries out to God - he knows in his heart that God is there and that without Him David would not have been able to cope with life. He might start his psalms crying out to God who he feels is so far away but as he progresses through them he often ends up acknowledging Gods is there. In the Psalms that follow, we see a confident David developing as the realisation of Gods presence in times of trouble builds up his confidence

Which culminate in Ps 46 God is our refuge and strength a very present help in times of trouble - even though your up to your neck in it, when your world is collapsing all around - fear not for God is with us and we are precious to Him.

Then to Ps 103 which says it all Praise the Lord who forgives all my sins, redeems my life from the pit, satisfies my desires. He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger abounding in love. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our sins from us. As a Father has compassion on His children - so too does God - He knows what we’re like. His love is everlasting to those who obey Him. Praise the Lord O my Soul. As we were reminded by Peter last week We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. O how we need to realise that God loves us and is there for us

The struggling church needed to know this - maybe someone here this morning - if not all of us needs to be reminded of that also.

We then sang the song ‘You raise me up’

You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession,and then Peter reminds us of the purpose of our calling? that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

I closed last week by asking the question, what is your response to that? To get to know God and His ways. Start to live the gospel out in our own daily lives and by so doing, encourage others to seek to know God for themselves. Called out of the darkness and into the light. We all know that you can’t see in the dark, your vision is halted but once someone switches the light on - WOW we can see clearly.

Jesus used the illustration in Matthew 5;13-16 (The Message) "Let me tell you why you are here; You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

Salt As we know, salt not only brings out the richness of the flavours in foods but we also use Salt to make the paths safe in winter by melting the hazardous snow. What Jesus is saying here is that Salt not only preserves the goodness but it also brings stability to lives that are unstable. You and I are called to be the salt of the earth to those around us, helping to bring out the goodness in others by living the life ourselves that will encourage them to accept Jesus into their lives.

No wonder Jesus wants us to be the Salt of the Earth. No wonder, as the Message translation puts it, as salt we should be bringing out the ‘God flavours’ in others.

Then Jesus went on to say "Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. Jesus said ‘If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

I wonder how far we go in trying to put Gods commands into practice.? Are WE the light of the world as Jesus said bringing light into someones dark world?

This week I want us to look at what another Apostle, Paul says when he writes to the church at Ephesus to open their minds to the awesomness of their calling. Last week we read how Peter referred to us as Living stones with which God is building His Church. Built on the Foundation stone which is Jesus Christ.

Similarly Paul - so in harmony with Peter, closes Chapter 2 of Ephesians by reminding them their lives are being built on the foundation with Christ Jesus Himself as chief cornerstone. In Him you are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.

Bible Ephesians 3; 14 Paul goes onto say 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. What a marvellous prayer!

Ephesians 3; 14 - 21 Living Bible 'When I think of the wisdom and scope of his plan, I fall down on my knees and pray to the Father of all the great family of God - some of them already in heaven and some down here on earth - that out of his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you the mighty inner strengthening of his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in him.

May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God's children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God himself.

Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of - infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. May he be given glory forever and ever through endless ages because of his master plan of salvation for the Church through Jesus Christ.

Strengthened by the Holy Spirit,

Indwelt by Christ,

Rooted in Him and

Established in love

Filled to the full measure of all the fullness of God

Paul's prayer for the Ephesian Church was that out of His glorious riches, He may strengthen you with power;

The power to resist the devil and the power to glorify God.

The power to say No, to reject temptation, to deny Satans power over us.

The power to claim the Victory, to continue the work of Jesus,

The power to glorify God in whatever way that could be accomplished.

The power that increases our faith as daily we realise the glorious presence

of Christ in our hearts.

The 240 watt power needed to make our lights shine for Him and bring light into the world that will dispel the darkness

In this day and age, we need all the help that we can to simply stay in tune with God, and enable us to grow and mature into His New creation. We need the inner strengthening of the Holy Spirit to enable us to 'live the life' for Jesus.

The evil one is very subtle, he knows for instance that if he can tempt someone back into their old ways he will do. He is the one who tries to put doubt into a Christians mind. He knows how to utilise our problems to his best advantage. He knows how to kick someone when they are down.

He also knows how to spoil a young and growing fellowship by worming his way into that fellowship knowing that he will have a better chance to destroy that fellowship from within.

How can we safeguard against such attacks. Paul tells us that as Christians we need to be deeply rooted in the love of Jesus, 19 'And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fulness of God.

Rooted and established in love

All you need is love' the Beatles sang, how right they were. God is love! Love is so powerful. Love is the greatest gift we could ever desire.

That’s why Paul wrote his love chapter to the church at Corinth. 1 Corinthians 13

We can be the cleverest person on earth, have faith that moves mountains but without love I am nothing. Love never fails.

Jesus said - Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends - you are my friends if you do whatsoever I command. He then went and gave His life - so that we could live. WOW! Love that will heal the hurts, love that will cement relationships, love that will bind us together. Love that knows no bounderies, Love that is real. Love that we can share with others. Love that will change the world.

Gods plan for His church and the Kingdom is that we should delight in the Love of God, delve deeper into the love of Jesus, be filled with His love and then go out into the world and let the love of God flow out to others. The greatest commandments are that we should Love God and love one another said Jesus.

God IS love, Jesus showed the extent of Gods love by giving His life to save us. Gods plan is that we should be filled with His love so that we can show that love to the world, our world, wherever that may be. All you need is love - Gods Love Be rooted in it - grow by it, Embrace it, Enjoy it and Share it with others both within the church fellowship and more importantly - outside in the world

Sunday 31 August 2014 Building on the Rock

Last week we read 1 Peter and talked about the sacrificial love of our Father God who sent Jesus to pay sins price by dying in our place on the cross to purchase our Salvation. Verse 13 started with the same word that Chapter 2 does - Therefore in other words - because of what God has done - prepare your minds for action

The people he wrote to were the Christians who had been scattered through the whole area and would need to hear the words of Peter as he built his audience up into a state of expectancy, he reminding them of their calling from humble fishermen to a New Birth, a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He told them of their inheritance, the reward for being faithful to the end.

Then Peter throws the challenge -because God has called you, and because of what God has done for you, therefore; ' prepare your minds for action, be self controlled, be obedient, don't give in to the evil desires that you once had when you lived in ignorance, but just as He is holy, be Ye holy in all that you do. Be like Jesus!

A call to prepare your minds for all that lies ahead. Paul writing to the Romans put it this way; 'therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, His good, pleasing and perfect will.

Half the battle in any operation is to attune our minds to the job ahead. Athletes, weightlifters, bodybuilders, before they attempt anything, stand and get their minds clear and attuned to the task ahead. Before you can receive the picture on your TV, the set has to be tuned in, the arial, the satellite dish has to be pointing in the right direction. Only then will you get the picture, only when our minds are tuned into God will we ever be able to test and approve His will for our lives and our Church.

It is important then that we set our minds on things above, that we have the right attitudes, the motivation, the determination to press on. Therefore, prepare your minds for action; Get ready, be in the right frame of mind which is? be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. In other words, put your heart , mind and soul into the task ahead.

Now comes the second ‘therefore’ Peter 2; 1- 9 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like new-born babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Therefore, rid yourselves, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander-. Notice Peter says that there are things that WE must do to show God our determination, to show God that we are preparing for action, anything that He will require us to do, in His building team. Prepare your minds, be self controlled, rid yourself of anything that will hold you back from being the person God wants you to be. Peter knew that God had a work for them to do, Just like He has for those He calls today!

Its about preparing our minds to be truthful, honest, upright, loving in all that we do . These are Gods way, not the worlds. In order that God can build His church, then we have to do the groundwork.

2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk so that by it yoy may grow up in your salvation now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

We start off as babes in Christ who need to take on the attributes of the Father and grow to become like Him. Just as the right milk is required to make sure a baby has a good start in life, so too we need to feed on His word and as we grow, just like a baby does, progress from the milk onto the meat - the body building substance that will help us to grow spiritually mature.

People who like living stones can be built into Gods pure and holy Church.

4 As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

Just as Christ is the cornerstone - the living stone - so too - we are living stones - and just as God chose Jesus so too God chose us - to become His Spiritual House - His Church here on earth..

7 Now to you who believe, this stone ( Jesus) is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone," and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message - which is also what they were destined for.

The stone the builders ( mankind) rejected was Jesus who’s very life, teachings and unconditional love were foreign to mankind and as such had became a stumbling block instead of the stepping stone they were meant to be. Man stumbles on through life because he chooses to reject the message of Jesus.

As we all know, any building is only as good as its foundation, if they are not strong enough one day it will fall. Also it is important that the right materials are used.

The Kitchen in the Community Hall has many problems that need sorting out as the authorities who came and inspected it say it doesn’t meet the strict criteria that present day regulations demand. The trouble is that most of the problems are a result of the builders not doing the job right in the first place. The cooker hood is a domestic one over a Commercial Cooker and therefore the wrong one - it also wasn’t trunked out through the roof. We wouldn’t be in trouble now if the powers that be had taken care to get it right in the first place.

Here in the bible, God is building His church - not of bricks and mortar but of living stones - people like you and me and the folk He chose had to be the right people who He could bring to perfection by getting rid of all the things in their lives that would be an obstruction.

When the old man who built our conservatory wall at home needed stones, he went to the quarry himself and chose the ones he wanted personally - After he had chosen them, he then started to chip away and cut off the bits that he knew would’nt fit - I thought then how often, as living stones being built into His Living Temple, God needs to chip away at us. Stone dressing is an art.

As Jesus chips away at our rough edges, He is in a way, dressing us in the newness of self, re-forming His creation into the new person He wants us to be.

God is in the building business - He is the Master builder Everywhere you look in Idle and Thackley the builders are constructing houses on every bit of spare land they can find.

I remember as a lad being able to stand on an old well next to a telephone box that stood in the middle of the road at the top of the town. It was just opposite the bottom door of the Old Chapel. I would stand there, and look down the hill and over the fields in the distance. You had a clear view of Calverly and beyond. No Thorpe Edge, it hadn't been built yet, just fields. Now its a group of flats.

When Beryl and I moved into our home in Overdale Drive, we could look over the fields above us and see to Wrose. I used to play in those fields, we used to go blackberrying. We can still see Wrose, but now there are hundreds of houses in the way on the Cote farm estate.

First the bulldozers plough in and uproot the ground, excavating, laying the foundations, providing the services for the new buildings, the pipes for the plumbing, the cables for the electricity. The foundation work seems to take ages before the building begins to take shape. But then, the foundation is just as important as the house.

Peter might have been a fisherman, but he knew the importance of making sure that the foundation work is carried out before God would begin to build His church.

Peter, James , John and indeed all the team that Jesus brought together that would become His discipleship class, the group whom He would have to leave in charge of His church, were ordinary folk like you and I. Men who had grown up in a selfish, self seeking world, and got used to the worlds ways. In order that Jesus could begin to build them together, into His church, there was a work to do in their lives.

Jesus is the foundation stone, rejected by men, but chosen by God, and precious to Him. We are His stones, and as such are precious to Him also. God is building His church, His dwelling place, not out of conventional bricks, but out of 'living stones' you and I. We are being made into the place where God dwells. Mans builds his empires, his kingdoms, that one day will crumble and fall, but the temples of the living God, no one can destroy, if they are established on the right foundation Jesus Christ.

To those who love Him, He is the stepping stone to life, to those who reject Him, He is a stumbling block over which they trip time and time again.

The world might choose to reject the ways of God in favour of their own selfish ways

But you and me - WOW! We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

This is one of my most favourite verses in the Bible.

But you and me, we are a chosen people, called by God, set apart for Him

A royal priesthood, children of the kingdom, heirs of the father

a Holy nation( the Kingdom of God)

a people Belonging to God I like that - ‘belonging to God‘.

And what for? That we may declare His praises, who called us out of darkness into His glorious light.

He has made us' nobody's into 'His special, precious people' He has given us new birth, a new identity, a new name. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

What is your response to that? Surely it’s got to be the same as Isaiah when he heard the mighty call of God. ‘Here I am Lord’ The same response of Joshua leading his people to the promised land- ‘as for me and my house we will serve the Lord’

We’re going to sing a song that echoes those responses 'Here I AM wholly available'

24 August 2014 Love Won another

Last week we read how Peter was miraculously freed from prison so that he could continue to do what Jesus had commissioned him to do - to share the good news, feed the sheep and tend to the lambs

We read how he went back to the fellowship to find them praying for him yet were surprised when the answer to their prayers came knocking on their door. After sharing fellowship with them, Peter then headed off to begin his ministry.

We then read Peters stirring encouraging letter to the persecuted Christians scattered around the known world = Gods elect, chosen by God for obedience to Christ.

Ordinary people like you and me who had been born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and given New life now and an inheritance that can never perish spoil or fade - kept in heaven. A people who are shielded by God s power until that glorious day when Jesus Christ will return. He encouraged them that even though they are going through difficult times, their faith will become the stronger for it.

Peter was thrilled by the fact that even though these new converts had never seen Jesus like he had, they had grown to love Him and are filled with an inexpressible joy as they experience the presence and the power of God in lives.

1 Peter 1; 13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

The rallying call - Therefore, prepare your minds for action; Get ready, in the right frame of mind which is? be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. In other words, put your heart , mind and soul into the task ahead.

I can just imagine someone like Matt Busby gathering his football team together prior to a match telling them to get set in the right frame of mind - put aside the fears of what you might know or have heard about the opposing team and get in their - do your best, set you sights on winning - have that picture indelibly imprinted in your mind of receiving the cup at the end of the match - The building up of the team aimed to encourage them to give their best - convinced that they are on the winning side.

A good team, Fellowship, requires people of self control who’s desire is to be obedient to God. Self-control, restraining those things that we know need restraining and active in those things that we need to be active in - disciplined. When we are self -controlled then we are able to make that decision to come under the control of Almighty God in obedience to Him.

And so Peter goes on As obedient children, Obedience - that’s the key, obedient to the Father just like Jesus said to His disciples. ‘Love me and obey me and I and the father will come and take up residence in your heart.

You’ve been born again, you’re a new creation so do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Wow! ‘be Holy because I am holy’ Be holy in all that you do. Holiness simply means ‘set apart’ Set apart, seperate yourselves from sin and unholy-ness, The promise was that if we love Him and live in obedience to Him then Jesus and His Father would come and live within us helping us, transforming us, changing us from the self motivated being that we were to the Spirit filled person we can become.

Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially,

I like that, God knows what we’re like, we’re not all the same, some are stronger than others, some give in more easily to temptation - God knows us and understands, so His judgement is impartial. I believe that God has more patience with us than we have with ourselves - and so Peter encourages the fellowship to live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. Strangers, aliens, the Bible has many words for what it simply means as ‘separate to’

Peters first words at the beginning of his letter addresses them as ‘Strangers in the world’ In other words we don’t fit in with mans idea of what life is all about. We live our lives on the pattern shown us by Jesus who put love and caring for and about God and one another as being paramount to the way God o intended His creation to be right from the beginning.

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

God ransomed us not with money but with the very life blood of His son Jesus

He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

John 3;16 " God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. That’s real love When someone loves you so much they are willing to sacrifice their own lives so that you can live. God did it to show us the extent of His love for us. Jesus showed us what God was really like and because God then miraculously raised Jesus from the dead and made Him appear to His disciples, they believed and spread the word so that we today, like the persecuted Church of Acts and set our faith and hope on Him.

A few weeks ago we remembered those who had given their lives in the first world war so that we could live in peace - I wonder what they would think if they came back and saw the world today - they could be forgiven for thinking ‘was it worth it’

The same in the second world war - many of us lost loved ones - if they could come back for just one day and saw the world that man has made it today- he would be shocked.

Imagine how God must feel when He looks at His creation today - the people He gave His own son for - it must grieve His heart. If that is the extent of Gods love to us, then how should that effect our relationship with each other? listen to these verses of scripture.

Jesus said "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13: 34-35

John Reminds us that ‘This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another - This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:11 that .....

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

No-one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 1 John 4; 7-11

And so we come to verse 22 which says 'Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.

Here Peter echoes the passion of Jesus - ‘Love one another’ how ‘As much as I have loved you’ - that’s a sacrificial love - a love that puts self on a back burner and others in the forefront. If only the world would adopt that way of life - what a difference it would make.

That’s the only way that leads to a true expression of JOY Jesus first, Yourself last and Others in between, Sadly, that’s not the kind of world we live in today.

Today we live in a selfish world where instead of Christian values being upheld, they are gradually being eroded. Gradually the Christian world is being infiltrated by all that is wrong in an evil world. Today Instead of influencing the world, the world is influencing the church. If we look at the newspapers, or watch the news on the TV, we can't fail to see the atrocities, the evil, the sinfulness of man spurred on by the evil desire to be master of the Universe. All we read and hear about is bad news, often the result of mans desire for power, supremacy, dominance and greed.

Life instead of being a celebration of all that is good to be enjoyed by everyone has turned into a battlefield, where the struggle to exist has meant that man seeks success by putting on his fellow men and seeking to better himself at others expense.

Not a very nice picture is it? And every day it gets worse. And so often, in his desire to escape from the reality of this world, man seeks the oblivion of the unreal.

Contrary to popular belief, we don't live in ‘a godless society‘! The truth is that the god this world worships is not our God. The god that this world serves is the god of self, wealth and power. The God we serve is the God of Love, self sacrificial Love. A God who loves His creation to the full, and was prepared to go to great lengths to prove it.

Jesus said "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Of course, there is a command that precedes that one - Love God with all your heart, mind and soul - that’s a love that puts Him first in your life - Sacrificial love. God gave His Son - we are called to give ourselves - put Him first. I wonder if we do - so many times God takes second place in mans list of priorities. When you know how to Love God then loving each other comes easy.

We are called to Love God and love one another. That’s my neighbour, my work colleagues, my friends as well as my family. People out there need someone to show them what real love is.

Love WON another

Somebody loved you and me enough to tell us about Gods way of love, How many have we told.?

Somebody cared for you so much, that they either took you or invited you to 'come to church to share the love of the fellowship and learn of God’s love for them. ' Who have you brought?

The reality of the truth of the Gospel is that God is love, and that the only weapon needed to fight against the evil of this world is Love.

Love one another deeply from the heart - for you are a new creation - born again through the enduring word of God

17 August 2014 Acts 12:1-17

And so the persecution continues as the Christians including James, the brother of John are put to death. James, along with Peter was one of the first disciples called when Jesus met them as they were fishing on the sea of Galilee. When Herod saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. Herod was certainly a man pleaser - Luke tells us in v 21 how thrilled he was when people called him a god - he certainly got his come-upance - in V 23; tells us that the Lord struck him down and he died.

These were terrible times for the early church with converts were being hounded, persecuted and killed for simply believing in Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Saviour of the world. That’s exactly what’s happening today as Christians are being murdered by ISIS, the Militant Muslim extremists.

We in this country today have it so easy to come to church, enjoy the fellowship and comfort of being able to worship in freedom - yet there are this very minute, people, children and adults who are dying simply because they are Christian.

We read last week how Antioch was the first place on earth where the followers of Jesus were called Christian. Today we read of how bearing that very name, James is murdered and now Peter put into prison awaiting trial and possible death.

And what are their fellow Christians doing? praying, no doubt specifically for their brothers in Christ just as in churches all around the world are today, fellow Christians, are praying for the thousands of innocents who are facing death and persecution because they dare to confess Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Thank God Jesus promised to be with His people whatever happened to us in this life - It was the same for those early day Christians - the world might be against them, but God was with and for them.

As a sign that God is with them, Luke tells us about the miraculous - supernatural escape of Peter from prison. Led out to be reunited with his brothers in Christ to continue the work that God had called him to do. Strange isn’t it to find that when Peter gets to the door of the place where his friends are praying - they fail to believe that their prayers have been answered and leave him standing at the door

I trust that when we pray - we pray in faith believing as often the prayers we make are for things outside understanding - sometimes it seems that we need a miracle but sadly our faith doesn’t always match up to that. I always say go for it - believing that with God all things are possible, but with the good sense to know that against our better wishes, God knows best and to leave it in His hands whatever the outcome.

Last week we read how the church became known as Christians. Today we have followed on through Acts to read about Peter, the one whom Jesus had commissioned to become the rock on whom He would build His church is miraculously set free from the clutches of the enemy to move on and spread the good news and encourage others to build their lives on the Lord Jesus Christ.

I want us then, to look at the first letter of Peter to Gods people, who through persecution have been scattered throughout the known world. A people he sees as Gods elect, chosen by God, sanctified by the Spirit and obedient to Jesus.

1 Peter 1; 1-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a 'living hope' through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

To think that the man who wrote this letter was none other than the man who had denied even knowing Jesus.

Now we see another Peter, the new, ’born-again’ Peter. Peter the Rock on which Jesus said ‘I will build my church and the powers of hell will not prevail upon it’. This is Peter the forgiven. Now there was no stopping the man.

Commissioned by Jesus to tend his lambs and feed His sheep, like the other disciples he was told to wait in Jerusalem until the power came from on high and then WOOSH

He was off! This is a man with a mission - Peter, like Paul, is a new man!

At Pentecost, this ordinary fisherman stood up and preached a sermon that had 3 000 people kneeling at the feet of Jesus. Peter became the Billy Graham of the New Testament. Peter the fisherman was now a 'fisher of men' just like Jesus said.

It's simply amazing what a difference a personal encounter with the Risen Living Lord can do in a persons life! You can’t met Jesus and it not make a difference. A difference that cannot be ignored, a difference that can be seen, both in the way a person acts and reacts to others, and also in the unseen, our attitudes to one another. We saw that in the life of Saul.

What about you and me. How have we changed. How different are we now to the person that we used to be. How has Jesus changed us?

There is no way that a personal encounter that develops into a living relationship with Jesus, can not make a difference to a persons life and there is no way that that difference can be hidden.

In the world today, people are used to having 'casual relationships' when they have had all they can get out of another person, they move on to the next ‘ Just watch Coronation Street, or Emmerdale and you’ll know what I mean. Some Christians act as if they are having a 'casual relationship with Jesus' get what they want and then move on. But you can’t have a casual relationship with Jesus - there’s got to be a commitment of self to the one you love.

Paul wrote to the church at Colosse and said this 'When a person becomes a Christian, he is not the same anymore, a new life has begun' and later he wrote that 'we are all being transformed into His likeness' If that's true, then It's surely going to show!

Peter certainly changed, and became a strong, trustworthy Rock of a man, on whom Jesus could firmly build His church. A man who would certainly make every effort to take care of the sheep and feed His lambs. A vehicle through whom the good shepherd could continue His work.

In the same way that the 'word became flesh' in Jesus, so too I believe Jesus is manifested in Peter. That’s why he could write such a positive letter

1 Peter 1; Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a 'living hope' through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

New birth into a living ho- a reality NOW - made possible through a new relationship with the risen Christ. Born again - a fresh start - a new beginning - How many times do folk say - ‘If I had my time over again - I wouldn’t do this I wouldn’t do that’? We can’t change the past but we can change the future.

A new beginning - A clean slate, through the undeserved favour of Jesus. ‘In His great mercy, He has given us NEW BIRTH into a LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And with new birth come the new inheritance - eternal life an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade Kept in Heaven

Peter wrote his letter to the young Churches in the latter part of the year that preceeded the outbreak of official Roman persecution of the early Christians. Wow! how they needed assurance and encouragment The destination of the letter is "Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia." These were the Roman provinces in what today is called Northern Turkey.

On July 19 AD 64, the fire bells were ringing all over the Roman Empire as Rome was put to the torch. Nero's reaction was to blame anyone he could for the fire, and his main target for his wrath was the Christians, who were already suffering under Nero's rule. The new converts were being terrorised, this letter would become a rallying call, a bulletin of encouragement to a scattered Christian Church, people chosen by God, the ones Peter addresses as 'God's Elect, strangers in this world'. Ordinary folk like you and me who were suffering because they had embraced the New Christian teachings of love and forgiveness.

These early Christians had had an encounter with the risen Christ or why else would they be prepared to go to their own deaths. The disciples had seen the risen Christ and went to their deaths proclaiming it was true. Without the resurection, Saul would never have joined the Christians and himself died for his faith.

Within weeks of Christ’s ressurection historians tell us that thousands of Jews began abandoning what had been long held practices of great religious importance.

Still there was fierce Roman persecution. The streets of Rome were lined with the burning crosses ofthe new converts - no one will go to such a length as giving their lives for what they believe in if their was any shred of evidence to proof otherwise. But they were sure of their new found faith in the Risen Lord and needed all the encouragement they could get. They needed to know that God was with them.

The Christian life isn’t easy - one day your on the mountain top as things go well - the next your in the valley of doldrums. One day your ecstatically happy - the next your wallowing in grief. Refined by fire - but be assured, God is with us.

Peter wrote to the new Christians In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. These people had been changed by an encounter with the risen Lord. Their lives took on a new meaning, they now had purpose - a hope - a goal.

Jesus is still in the business of changing lives today if only people would let Him

Jesus gave His life to transform peoples lives, a change that is as startling as the transformation of the caterpillar to a butterfly. From sinner to saint. He wants His creation to stop struggling aimlessly through life, and begin to fly.

I believe too that He wants to transform His church today to get it back to becoming a New testament Church with an understanding of what Church was meant to be - a living body of people who are seeking to know Him as He wants to be known.

A people dedicated to living lives that will mirror His way of loving. A caring, understanding, together people who, having found meaning and purpose in their own to lives - want to share that with other - whatever it costs.

And so he writes Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy He has given us new birth into a 'living hope' through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

10 August Acts 11; 19 The Church in Antioch

For the last few weeks we have been looking at the growth of the Church from it’s very beginning at Pentecost. We have seen the way in which God began to develop His church - both Jews and Gentiles into a ‘together people’

Last week we marvelled at the awesome transformation of Saul who had been guilty of zealously persecuting the new followers of Jesus - even consenting to the death of Stephen who Luke tells us was full of the Spirit and full of faith. Saul was so zealous to keep what he saw as the purity of the Faith that he had been brought up in, that he’d stop at nothing to get rid of, kill, exterminate - remove from the country, anyone who adopted the new way of Jesus. Christians.

As we’ve looked at the atrocious things that are happening in the middle East in these days, we see the same single mindedness of a people who will stop at nothing to get rid of Christians. Misguided extremists who in the name of Allah are killing innocent people, striking terror and fear amongst the Christians in just the same way as Saul and the authorities of his day did.

The Christians in Saul’s day would be terrified as Saul and his henchmen dragged them out onto the streets and tried to force them back to the old religion. It’s no different today - not just in Israel but the ‘persecution of Christians in Iraq who, if they don’t agree to change their faith from Christian to Muslim are been killed in the most atrocious ways or .forced out of the country. Young men are being crucified and young children beheaded.

Not a lots changed since the days of the early church and the persecution they faced. Today we are seeing once again the persecution of the Christian church that over the last 2000 years had grown and spread at a phenomenal rate.

We read Acts and see how, even through the persecution, the church grew stronger and stronger until here we are today, in idle, meeting to worship our Lord in freedom - but sadly it’s a different story on many parts of the world. In other countries there is fierce opposition whilst in this country there is a rapidly spreading apathy to the Christian Faith as Christian values are being eroded in both schools and home.

When will mankind realise that God wants all men to live at peace and harmony with each other. Instead we have misguided power hungry leaders encouraging their people to war against each other to the point of destroying what they see as their enemy and in our own land, a rapidly growing apathy.

God’s way is to encourage men to lay down their carnal weapons and seek to embrace peaceful ways of working together for peace and harmony.

And so we have been looking at Saul - how, on his way to get rid of a few more Christians - he met Jesus on the Damascus road . We saw how that meeting changed the whole direction of his life as he turned to Jesus and became one of His followers.

We looked at the way Ananias, even though he was afraid of Saul, was obedient to God and did as the Lord told him and went to see Saul to tell him that God had called Saul out of the opposing side to become a key player in the Home team. And as Annanias layed hands on Saul , the blindness left him and he was given his sight back.

Saul went to Damascus as he had planned but instead of hounding out the followers of Jesus to destroy them, he started to speak and preach in favour of Jesus. He told them how he had met the risen Lord on his way there and ‘saw the light’ and was convinced of the truth of Jesus.

Just as Peter the fisherman was transformed from failure to a Rock on whom Jesus would build His church, so too we have seen how Saul’s life was been changed from a kind of ‘witch finder general’ to an evangelistic ‘Billy Graham’ figure.

Understandably when the newly converted Saul tried to join the followers of Jesus, they would’nt allow him to come anywhere near them. ( Acts 9;36) They were afraid of him - who can blame them for not believing Saul when only yesterday he was threatening the Christians with death for preaching Christ. Today his own testimony is 'Iv’e seen the light'. ‘I’m with you boys - I’m one of you!

And so we come to Chapter 11 and see how the church is spreading throughout the land following the death of Stephen

Acts 11;19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.

Here we have a turning point in the history of the church. Up until now the Jews had seen themselves as Gods exclusively ‘chosen people’ and some of the converts began spreading the word -only among the Jews - but we also now have the some of the others taking the good news to the non-Jews. This is in response to the command of Jesus to take the gospel to men of every nation (Matthew 28:18-20).

21; The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When Barnabas arrived ( at Antioch) and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.

If you remember, Barnabas was the one who sold a field and presented the money to the fellowship to help others in need. ( Acts 4;36) Now, today, Barnabas , the encourager is helping to build on the work that his fellow Christians are doing in spreading the word and making converts. Barnabas knew they needed help and he knew just the man who could do it.

25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.

Barbabas had seen something in Saul that the others couldn’t. He’d probably heard the stirring testimony of Saul when Saul began testifying about his conversion experience after his arrival in Damascus. Saul the man who had gone to Damascus to kill the Christians has now become one of them and now preaching alongside them, the risen Christ. Thank God for Barnabas who, seeing the change in Saul, stood up for him, went to the fellowship in Jerusalem and encouraged the disciples to give him a chance -

Barnabas believed that Saul really was a changed man.

Barnabas testified in defence of Saul - told them how Saul had met with Jesus whilst on his way to Damascus in an attempt to quash the Christians -

Barnabas told them how the Lord has spoken to Saul and changed his life around completely so that when Saul entered Damascus, instead of threatening to destroy the Christians

Barnabas was indeed as his name suggests, an encourager. I think we would all agree that there is a great need in the church today for Christians who support one another, encourage one another and defend one another.

With true discerning Spirit, Barnabas saw in Saul, what the other followers couldn't. He saw a changed man, a man set apart by God. Barnabas accepted Saul into the fellowship and with his 'recommendation', got Saul accepted into the church.

This is the growth of the church as God intended it to be - a welcoming place made up of people who are willing to see the best in one another and welcome others into the fellowship - the word tells us that He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith and a great number of people were brought to the Lord that's a great epitaph for a Christian.

When Barnabas saw what God was doing here at Antioch - converting the Gentiles he knew that help was needed and what better qualified man than his new friend Saul

25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.

Wow! I can imagine what a great time this would be for the followers of Jesus as Saul and Barnabas share about their own conversions with the people of Antioch. They would be a great team. There would be an excitement, and eagerness to hear more of the miraculous Jesus, his life and ministry, his death and ressurection, appearances to the Disciples and all that had happened since the death and ressurection of Jesus

No wonder then that Luke tells us that Antioch became the first place where the term Christian was used. From followers of the way as they were known - to Christian - both Jews and Gentiles - a together people who needed a common name tag - what better one that CHRISTIAN - Gods together people - followers of Christ the Messiah.

That’s what Gods people should be doing today, working together, and like Barnabas, encouraging one another, building each other up and letting the world see the unity and love that there is in a true Church fellowship. Christian love - the love of Jesus

They will know that we are Christian by our love - not the badge we wear or the uniform, the cross or car sticker, but by the lives we live outside the church.

Wow - I wonder how much we value our family name - Christian - I wonder if we would be as strong as the Christians in New testament days who amidst persecution, held on to their new found faith. Much the same way as Christians in Iraq who under the threat of death, desperately hold on to their faith. It’s so easy to sing ’I’ll stand for Christ - for Christ alone, amidst the tempest and the storm’ in our comfortable little churches.

How proud are we to be known as followers of Jesus Christ - Gods together people

Imagine how the Christians in the Middle east who had fled to the hills without food and water, leaving their homeland in hopes of being rescued by their counterparts in the ‘civilised ‘ world.

In Bradford we live at peace within in a fast growing Muslim community - that is until people like MP George Galloway starts his hate campaign against the Jews saying that Bradford is a ‘no go area for the Jews’ - instead of encouraging harmony and peace he’s doing what Hitler did in Germany - who knows what tomorrow might bring

Gods intention for His new Community was - that we be a together people, together in love, hope and ministry - evangelising not with weapons of destruction but armed only with love that can be seen through our oneness - One in the Spirit - One with each other - One with the Lord.

The only way the world will embrace the Christian faith is when they SEE that it works in the way in which we who profess to BE Christian, live our lives. Actions speak louder than word - that’s why God sent Jesus , the Word made flesh. No armies of destruction can ever hope to win against love We are His people who, like the followers at Antioch are called by His name to bring light in a dark world

Sunday 3 August 20 2014 Acts 8;1

And Saul was there, giving approval to his (Stephens) death

As I read this it made me wonder why Luke, who became a companion of Paul would single him out as one giving approval of the death of Stephen. Luke, would have been one of the Apostles who voted for Stephen to become one of the helpers in the early church, Luke makes us aware that Saul was one of the perpetrators of this terrible act.

We get so used today to news being relayed almost minutes after it has happened - sometimes AS it happens, through the marvel of Satelite TV that we don’t realise that Luke wasn’t writing about events AS they happened, but often, months later.

I believe that possibly one of the reasons why Luke tells us that Saul condoned the stoning of Stephen, was to show the dramatic change in Saul following his conversion on the Damascus Road.

Luke was telling us about the Saul that was so that when he writes about Saul at a later stage, we will be able to see the awesome transformation from the Zealous lawman Saul to the liberated God filled Paul who as Luke later writes becomes an advocate for the truth and an avid Apostle for Christ.

And so we read that the death of Stephens was the start of a great persecution that broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

Chapter 8;2,3 tells us that Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

The rest of the chapter goes on to tell us of the spread of the good news through the apostles but we are going to move on to chapter 9 that continues the story of Saul.

Acts 9; 1-19 Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

WOW! Here’s Saul setting off to Damascus breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He’s making sure that his journey isn’t wasted and taken the trouble to get letters of Authority from the High priest to get rid of the newly formed Christian Churches and take their converts as prisoners

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

One minute he’s got letters of authority from the High priest and now Saul meets with Jesus, the one he is trying to destroy and is told to go into Damascus and wait further instructions. For three days he is blind - little does he know that the very one who he was trying to get rid of will soon be opening his eyes to a new way of life - and God’s already planned which disciple of His He will use to minister His Grace and nurture Saul in his new found faith.

10; In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."

"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name." But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for My name."

You can understand the response of Ananias - word had got round the Saul was on his way to get rid of the followers of Jesus and here is Jesus telling him to go to the house where Saul is staying- I would imagine that Ananias would be frightened to death at what God was telling him to do - but nevertheless he does what the Lord says.

17; Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord--Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here--has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, regained his strength

We only have to read Pauls own testimony in Philippians 3; in regards to the law, a Pharisee. A zealous persecutor of the Church, as for Legalistic, righteous and faultless.

His encounter with Jesus and his time with Annanias brought about an awesome change in him that would take him from being a passionate, zealous, Hebraic Jew who would stop at nothing to get rid of those he thought were heretical and an enemy to his way of thinking - to become a loving follower of Christ. That’s why he says;

7 Whatever I had then I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What’s more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for whose sake I have lost al things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ. The righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. -

Hard to believe isn’t it that the man we read about throughout the rest of Lukes account of the Acts of the Apostles, the growth of the early church and the spread of the gospel, that the man PAUL is the same man who was known as Saul

That’s why I believe Luke tells us right at the beginning of his letter to Theophilus that Saul consented to the death of Stephen to show us the power of the Lord to transform people lives, people who we might think are beyond reproach - too far gone to receive forgiveness from God and go on to live a life dedicated to fulfil the command o0f Jesus to live the life and share the truth with the whosoever.

There have been many men and women throughout the ages who’s lives have been transformed by God and have been changed dramatically.

Nicky Cruz I think of people like Nicky Cruz born in Puerto Rico. His parents were both Satan worshippers who mentally abused him; in fact his own mother would call him "Son of Satan". When he was just 15 his parents sent him to live with his brother in New York but he soon ran away and started living on the streets of the city. He became a member of the Mau-Mau street gang, and about six months later Cruz was selected Warlord of the gang. He quickly rose to be their leader. But just like Saul, God had his eye on Nicky.

Shortly after he became the gang leader, David Wilkerson was preaching in the neighbourhood and Nicky saw him. David Wilkerson told Nicky that Jesus loved him and would never stop loving him. A shocked Cruz responded by slapping Wilkerson and holding a knife to his face. Wilkerson looked straight at him and said that even if Nicky cut him into a thousand pieces, every piece would still say Jesus loves him.

Two weeks later, Wilkerson had an evangelistic meeting in the neighborhood. When Cruz heardbout it, he decided to go and teach the preacher a "lesson" and, with some of the members of his gang, he headed for the boxing arena where the rally was being held, on a bus sent specially by Wilkerson.

But God had already started to work in Nicky Cruz’s life and when he arrived at the arena, he felt guilty about the things that he had done and started to pray. Wilkerson preached, then asked the Mau-Maus to take up a collection. Nicky sprang to his feet and led a group of the gang through the crowd insisting on people giving money.

Going backstage, he saw an exit, he could have escaped with all the money he’d collected but was struck by the fact that someone had actually trusted him. He gave the money to Wilkerson on stage. Later, Wilkerson gave an altar call, and many gang members responded including Nicky Cruz who asked God to forgive him.

The following day Cruz and some of the gang members who were converted went to the police and turned in all of their bricks, handguns and knives, shocking the police officers in the station.

Cruz began to study the Bible and went to Bible college. He became a preacher and returned to his old neighbourhood, where he preached and persuaded some of the Mau-Maus to accept Jesus, including the gang's new leader, Israel Narvaez.

An amazing story that was made into a film called ‘The Cross and the Switchblade’ starring Pat Boone as David Wilkerson. Like Saul, God took Nicky out of his old way of life and transformed him into a soul saver, a follower and evangelist for Christ.

I’m reminded too of Micah a young Mormon missionary who whilst on a mission to convert people to the Mormon faith found the truth when he encountered Jesus through the ministry of a Baptist minister he was trying to convert… Not only Micah, but his whole family came to know the real Jesus. His mum was a senior professor in the Brigham Young University, his father a bishop in the LDS Church. All of them, including his other brother and sisters all came into the truth and were born again.

Today they tour the world in their mission to bring other Mormons into the truth.

My life - I was bandmaster, I thought I knew God and it took a stint in hospital to show me otherwise. God healed me through the ministry of a young lieutenant David Murden My prayer when I knelt here those 40 years ago was the same prayer that the converted Paul prayed which was I want to know Christ, the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of sharing His suffering, want to become like Hiin His death and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead

I had seen Jesus in the lives of our new officer and cried out to God I want to know You like they know You - and it was then that He made Himself known to me and my life was never the same thank God.

We used to sing a song, ‘I have decided to follow Jesus’ No turning back and this is a Christian hymn originating from India. The lyrics are based on the last words of a man in Assam, north-east India, who along with his family was converted to Christianity in the middle of the 19th century through the efforts of a Welsh missionary who had endured severe persecution for trying to convert the natives to Christianity.

It was a brutal village in the Indian province of Assam, but he eventually gained his first converts. A husband and wife, with their two children, professed faith in Christ and were baptized. Their village leaders decided to make an example out of the husband. Arresting the family, they demanded that the father renounce Christ, or see his wife and children murdered to which the convert declared, "I have decided to follow Jesus." "Though no one joins me, still I will follow."

The mobs dragged his family out into the open air where they first killed his two children and then his wife, and whilst he was still singing, "The cross before me, the world behind me." They executed him. This display of faith is reported to have led to the conversion of the chief and others in the village.

According to this missionary, when he returned to the village, a revival had broken out, and those that had murdered the first converts had come to faith themselves. The Welsh man passed along these reports to the famous Indianevangelist Sadhu Singh. Singh.

Singh took the martyr’s last words, and put them to traditional Indian music in order to make one of the first uniquely Indian hymns. The song immediately became popular in Indian churches, and it remains a mainstay of worship music there to this day.

The wonderful thing is that God is still changing lives. People are still being transformed today by the power of Jesus. He changed Sauls life from persecutor of the Christians to be an envoy for the Lord. If it hadn’t have been for Paul we would only have a quarter of the New Testament.

He changed the life of Nicky Cruz from being a violent gangland leader to a loving gentle minister of the faith. He changed Micah the Mormon lad from being an evangelist of lies to an evangelist of the truth, he changed my life, and if He hasn’t already, He can change your life too.

Sunday 27 July 2014

Acts 6; 1 We read how because of the discontent between the distribution of food to the widows it was agreed to appoint seven men to deal with the distribution to allow the Twelve to concentrate on what they had been called to do which was the ministry of the word. One of the seven they chose was chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.

So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people and no one could stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

They seized Stephen and producing false witnesses to say that Stephen had said say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us." They brought Stephen before the Sanhedrin, All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and theysaw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Acts 7 Stephen gave them a history lesson reminding them of how God through Abraham had raised up a race of chosen people whom God promised would receive the inheritance of the Father to posses the land.

V 20 He reminded them of how God sent Moses to bring them out of bondage and slavery and set them on a journey of freedom that would one day lead them to posses the land promised by God to their forefathers.

V 48 He reminded them how Solomon had said that God was too big to be confined to a building made by man such as the Temple. He reminded them of how Moses had constructed a moveable 'church' that was the tabernacle.

V 49 Stephen then brought their attention to the words of God given through the prophet Isaiah when He said this ' Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where is the house you will build for Me. Where will My resting place be? Has not My hand made all these things, and so they came into being ? declares the Lord.

Stephen gave excellent defence against the trumped up charges. His chief witness was God Himself as through the voice of Scripture, their Holy book, he refuted their charges of blasphemy against Moses and God.

When they then accused him of preaching the words of Jesus, whom they crucified, Stephen pointed to scripture to reveal that Jesus only confirmed what His Father God had said through the prophets, indeed later Paul, who sanctioned Stephen's execution, would go on to preach the same message, that the dwelling of God is within you.

This theme was also picked by Peter when he said that we, His people, are living stones being built into a temple where God dwells.

V51 Stephen called his accusers 'stiff necked' with a passion reminiscent of John the Baptist, who cried 'O generation of Vipers, who has bewitched you'. 'You stiff necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears' he cried, Stephen went on to condemn his accusers of resisting the Holy Spirit, of refusing to face up to the truth of the gospel and instead cling to mans tradition and false ideals.

V 53 He accused them of not listening to the prophets, of stifling the truth by silencing the prophets, even killing the one sent by God, Jesus the Messiah. He accused them of denying the very truth of God that was given them by receiving the law but not obeying it. They were like the Pharisees of whom Jesus said, 'listen to what they say but don't do what they do'. In other words what they preach is good but it's a pity they don't put it in to practice. ’

All Stephen did was stand up for the truth, to bring back Gods people back to what God really said and meant, and for that, like Jesus before him, they brought false witnesses, accused him of blasphemy and put him to death. It seems that the only response was that ‘If you don't like the message get rid of the messenger. What they hadn't bargained for was that you cannot stifle the truth of God.

It amazes me that here is the man, Stephen, appointed to 'Wait on tables', and what is doing now? Putting in to practice what he would have heard Peter and the Apostles doing, standing up and defending the new found faith that he had come to understand, accept and love.

Although Stephen was chosen to serve the fellowship, he knew that an important part of his service was to save the lost.

We all have different jobs to do in the church, and what motivates us to do those jobs should be the desire to let the love of Jesus that we are so privileged to know, be experienced by those who as yet don't know Him.

We are all called to proclaim the truth whatever the cost. Not just by the truth that we preach but the truth that we live. We are called to live the full gospel of Jesus Christ. To Care and to Worship. 'Worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness' is not a pious call to worship, but a call to 'live the truth', to 'let the word of God become flesh in us'.

Sometimes that can be a costly thing. For many, giving their life to Christ has meant exactly that, some have died for their faith. Stephen, the first Christian Martyr, is one of thousands who have had the courage of their convictions to stand up for Jesus without compromise. All Stephen did was apply his Christian convictions regarding the centrality of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah in God's redemptive program.

He could have kept quiet, got on with his job in the Kitchen pointing at the Apostles saying, leave the spiritual stuff to them, it's their job. But he didn't. He knew that there was no dividing line between serving and saving, between feeding mens stomachs and feeding mens souls, between livingthe truth in love by serving and teaching the truth that would eventually save. So often people in the church say 'thats not my job' or 'You're supposed to be the minister' They create embarkation lines between ministries. The SS on our uniform is there to remind us all that we are SAVED to SERVE.

We are all called to serve God and mankind. Stephen did that he stood up for what he believed and paid the price. It saddens me that we live in a world where Christianity is held in such low esteem and unlike the Church of the New testament, today we find that Christians all over the world are being persecuted.

It was recently that Islamist militants have blown up the reputed burial site of the biblical prophet Jonah and that the 4th century Mar Behnam Monastery, one of the country’s best known Christian landmarks, has been seized and the monks expelled.

The last remaining Iraqi Christians are reported to have fled Mosul and Al-Sham in Iraq after the Islamic State in Iraq demanded that they either convert to Islam, pay a tax, or leave the area. Failure to comply would result in their deaths. Now, after over 2,000 years, there are no Christians in the Nineveh Province capital The last Christian in Mosul, Iraq fled the city on July 19 at noon.

There are many Christians who are finding their faith is being tested all over the world and are being called to take their ‘stand for Christ’ In fact, all down through History there have been brave men and women who have stood up for what they believed and have been solid rocks for Christ.

Wang Ming Tao was one of the most influential figures in the growth of the church in China. His respect for biblical authority, and moral integrity and the defence of the Christian faith have won admiration of Chinese Christians all around the World. Yet for over twenty years from 1955 to 1979 he was incarcerated in Chinese prisons for daring to stand up against the Communist regime.

Our own Major Yin Hung Shun did the same, he stood up for Christ in Communist China. As leader of the Salvation Army in China, he was imprisoned and the Army dissolved. For years he kept the spirit of the Army alive and some of us were privileged to see and hear him give his testimony at the Congress a few years ago.

In 1950 Atheistic Communists invaded and took over Seol, Korea. Major Noh Young Soo was brought before them, ordered to march through the streets at gunpoint by his captors and ordered to renounce his Christian faith. The Major refused and raising his bible in one hand and his SA song book in the other shouted ‘Wether I live or die matters not - for Christ lives’

As he knelt and prayed for his captors they shot him dead and marched away leaving the body where it fell. Other Salvationists. He was one of six Korean Salvationists who died as martyrs during the Korean War.

On Thursday night there was a documentary on ITV that asked the question - ‘Is Britain no longer a Christian Country. ‘The evidence concluded ‘NOT ANY MORE’

How often do we take for granted the fact that we have the freedom to express our faith, so many opportunities to share fellowship, to meet like minded Christians, to come to Church. The freedom to practice, many opportunities to minister in Gods name to people less fortunate than ourselves.

We have a mighty God who is able to meet the needs of all mankind. An army of ordinary people. Sadly, sometimes indifferent people who although they call themselves Christians, hide away when the going is tough.

Stephen, the first Christian Martyr, stood up for Jesus and we are told that because of that, They could not stand against the wisdom of Stephen, because he knew what the prophets of old had said and He practised what he preached.

Stephen would have taken every opportunity to attend the prayer meetings and Bible Fellowship, not out of a sense of obligation, but because wanted to know God and gain strength from Him. He Loved the fellowship, gained great encouragement from it and was quick to respond to the needs of the Church, whatever that meant or cost, even working in the kitchen or making sure that the widows were fed.

But more than that - Stephen knew a Great Big Awesome Mighty God whom he was willing to give his life for. No wonder his face shone like that of an angel when he looked into the eyes of his accusers. God lived in and through Stephen, and it showed.

We are not all called to be missionaries, or even called to die for our faith, but we are all called to be true to what we believe, to live the life that He calls us to, to pray, to read our bibles, to make every opportunity to meet together, to share fellowship, to encourage one another, to minister to one another, to love one another. To worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness. God wants us to live out our the truth of our faith just where we are.

What really hurt the leaders in our Bible reading was that Stephen told them a few home truths. He showed them up for what they were. All talk and no action. When they heard what Stephen had to say, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said,"I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.

Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.The same prayer that Jesus made to His father on the cross ‘ Father forgive them, for they know not what they do’

Wow! The truth really hurts doesn’t it? Stephen was a great man, full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. A strong, kind, compassionate man, a mans man - Jesus's man. A man, chosen by his church to wait on tables. By the world of today's estimation 'a man over qualified for the menial task appointed for him to do'.

There is a work to be done here at Idle, a gospel to be preached and seen. God needs people who are willing to serve at the empty tables of a lost mankind, and lead them to taste and see that God is good.

Today, God needs men and women who are not afraid of standing up for what they believe. People who will not jeopardise their faith for the sake of compromise. May we be that kind of people.

It’s a fact that Standing up for God often starts by kneeling down in prayer

Sunday 20 July 2014

Acts 5;17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

This is the second time in a few days that the Apostles have been hauled before the courts because they were teaching and witnessing to the truth. The first time they were released with the warning not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus - even then Peter had said that they couldn’t help but speak about what they had both seen and heard. on their release they went back to the fellowship and together prayed for more boldness to do what they had been ordered not to do.

As we said last week -the fellowship, the church are now a united people - a people with a living testimony, an urgent mission, and a sure and positive purpose.

For the moment, the authorities wanted the Apostles to be in Bondage under the authority of the world. Of course we know that the ultimate aim of Jesus is to take the Hel(L) out of the wor(l)d - taking you out of bondage to the world leaving you in Freedom under the word.

What the authorities hadn’t bargained for was that each victory won brought with it more strength and power to continue in what they had been called , by Jesus, to do - ‘Go and be My witnesses’. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. "Go, stand in the temple courts," he said, "and tell the people the full message of this new life." At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.

The angel of the Lord sets Peter free and re-affirms the command of Jesus to ‘Go and tell everyone the FULL message of this New Life in Christ Jesus, that’s what they did.

The High Priest, in fear that they were loosing their credibility and authority might well demand, "Didn't we tell you never again to teach in this man's name? but they were unable to stop them ‘Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about Jesus, and you intend to blame us for his death!" Peter and the apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than human authority." Peter and the Apostles were together - one voice - united in action. Their unity brought fear into the hearts if those who were against them. No mere prison bars could hold them back

They were Eye Witnesses to the world about the word Acts 5;30-33 The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead - whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Saviour that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him." When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.

Then an amazing thing happened 34; a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honoured by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. Then he addressed them:

"Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all

came tonothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."

His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

WOW! I could well imagine that the fellowship back home had all been praying for the release of Peter and John - and here was Gods answer to their prayers. Free, Free to spread the good news. 41; Day after day in the Temple Courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

The good news is that - Jesus - offers freedom - freedom that leads to eternal life to come. God has entrusted those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour to tell others and empowers them to do so.

That's what God requires of His people, you and I today! to tell the world out there, the full message of this new life. The full gospel! There’s no better way that buy sharing your own testimony, your own experience - and because its the truth, no one will ever be able to refute it.

The early church grew because of the faith and commitment of ordinary people whose lives had been changed through an encounter with an extraordinary God. People who were prepared to take up their cross and follow Him.

People like you and me who having believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, knew they were saved, and were obedient to the Lords command to 'go into all the world and 'tell the full story' the truth of which will 'make disciples'. The early Church grew through the faithful witness of those Ordinary men and women who had a living vibrant testimony.

In the same way, those early Salvation Army converts, who's lives were dramatically changed, became excited, enthusiastic exponents of the truth. When they sang 'We are witnesses for Jesus', they meant it. When they sang 'The world for God' they meant it!

In his book 'Idlethorpe', Wright Watson tells us about Rebecca. ‘ a Salvationist in the early days of the Salvation Army. She died when she was quite young, and hundreds gathered for her 'promotion to Glory'. Salvationists came in great numbers from surrounding districts, and the funeral procession was led by a large 'augmented' Salvation Army brass band.The funeral procession stretched from the top of the green, to the church gates. unfortunately an argument broke out as to who should walk ahead of the cortege. Heman, her real father, now separated from his wife , said he should lead the funeral cortege. Rebecca had been brought up in the home of her mothers friends, who said that her husband had the right. The two men started to take off their coats for a fight right there at the front of this great procession. Eventually, the Salvation Army officer stepped in and brought peace. The procession continued with the band and all the people playing and singing, ''Shall we gather at the river'.'

What struck me when I read the report, was the way in which Wright Watson describes Rebecca. He says this 'Rebecca was well known as a saint in her day. All who knew her felt that by religious standards she was a superior person. It was said that she showed how possible it was in her life to live the life of a saint in the mean streets and sordid surroundings of Idle.

This was Idle in the 1880's, the Army hadn't been going all that long and the fire of the Spirit was spreading through the village within just 4 years there were hundreds in the procession, hundreds probably like Rebecca, a living witness who simply lived her life for Jesus and it showed. No missionary in far off lands, but just where she was, at home, school, at work her life shone like a ray of light in the darkness her age.

Our parish is where we live and work, not just where we meet with like minded Christians. It’s easy to share the good news with those who are eager to hear it, it’s not so easy out there in the world in which we spend the most of our time.

"Go, stand in the temple courts," the Angel said, "and tell the people the full message of this new life."

And that’s exactly what they did - at daybreak they entered the temple courts and began to teach the people. Like the early Christians we have been chosen by God to be witnesses - that He loves all men and would that they be saved.

That’s why, years later, Peter could write; ‘1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

A chosen people chosen by God to become witnesses to the truth. Where in the past the Jews were deemed exclusively to be God’s chosen people - today, through the grace of God and the sacrificial love of Jesus, the Gentiles, non- Jews who believe in Jesus are now called ’chosen’, the elect, a royal priesthood - "Kings and priests unto God," Revelation 1:6 . as priests, we are consecrated to God, for offering spiritual sacrifices. Christians are as one holy nation, under Christ our King. A people purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ - who are now belonging to God that we may declare the praises, show forth - by the way we live our lives of Christ who has called us out of the darkness of ignorance, error, sin, and misery.

Before Jesus came, you were not a people - but scattered individuals of many nations. But now you are the people of God - through Jesus mercy has been extended to include you who accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour

Commisioner Elijah Cadman - was a converted chimney sweep - who had been going up chimneys from the age of 5 - was converted as a young teenager, joined Booths Army and at one officers meeting said this; Go to the peoples homes, follow them at their play; be after them in their sins, in the public houses, anywhere. They are yours to win, to guard, to guide in the right path. Go where you are needed, not merely where you’re wanted. I’ve knocked on doors an known I wasn’t wanted and been told to go away, I didn’t mind rebuffs, and heaved successes simply because I stuck to the thing I wanted to get. The Army is after souls. Be bold for souls and you will catch souls.

In the early days of the Salvation Army they were hounded and persecuted often by the recognised church of the day. When challenged, the General refused to defend himself or the Army and echoing the words of Gamiliel If their purpose or activity is of human origin it will fail - but if it’s from God you wont be able to stop them he said ‘the future will reveal the Army’s integrity - the present is too precious for arguments with those unwilling to be convinced’.

These were early days for the Army - days that saw phenominal attendances at meetings where people were converted in their hundreds- with signs and wonders taking place.

In Bradford, the saved railway guard now Captain James Dowdle were said to be embarrased at the number of healings that took place in their meetings. One, a lame girl, was healed and when the news got to her father, he said ‘Walking and cured in the Salvation Army is she? I’ll cure her of this blasphemous nonsense and he rushed to the meeting brandishing a stick ready to thrash her .

On seeing his daughter, who had limped in pain and distortion for years, now straight and joyous, her crutches carried by a woman behind her - the stick fell from his hands and all he could do was marvel. Just like the crowds who witnessed the healing of the lame man - the authorities couldn’t dispute the physical evidence in front of them, that he had been healed miraculously by the name of Jesus.

What about our mission, What about those people that we live with, spend our time with the rest of the week, the folk we work with or go to school with? How concerned are we that they might be living their lives without Jesus? Is it my concern?

Jesus came alongside people. He met people where they were. His pulpit was a well, where He shared 'the living water' with a Samaritan woman. A house, where he healed the lame man let down through the roof. A boat on Lake Galilee where He talked to the fishermen and other traders. A picnic on the hillside with crowds of 5 000.

One of the few times that we hear of Him in the temple is when He emphasised His mission to the congregation that He had come to call the unrighteous to repentance, that His mission was to the lost, the hopeless, the outcast. The people that somewhere down the line, the church had lost touch with. Jesus went outside where the people were. In the highways and the byways, in the market place, the inn, the home.

In just three years, Jesus called men into the new community of believers. Taught them new lifestyles, equipped them for service, empowered them for mission ... and then sent them back into the world from which they came. 'Go ye into all the world and 'preach the good news, the gospel'. In one of Catherine Booths sermons, she threw out the challenge that Jesus didn't say 'go into all the world and build churches and chapels and invite them in, and if they don't come in, then let them alone'. Jesus said 'go, tell, show your friends, your neighbours, your brothers and sisters, your children, your partner, share the good news of the gospel with them. .

Our forefathers in the Salvation Army went out into the world and having cast there nets on the other side (point at windows) led them back to the church ( point inwards).

We are the real church and church should be out there where we live, spend the most of our time, at work at play. That’s where mission begins.

This place is where Gods people come together in thanksgiving, to worship, share the blessings and hardships of the past week, and receive the equipping and empowering needed to accomplish all that He calls us to do in the week to come. This is the place where we pray for more boldness to tell the world about Jesus.

Jesus called His disciples to ‘come ye apart from the world’, to seek to know Him, to be equipped and empowered by Him, and then get out there. Not back to the comfort of the known or the safe, but into the risky world in which they lived. Real Church is where the people are. Our mission field is where God has placed us, in Idle Thackley, Thorpe Edge, Greengates, Eccleshill, Windhill. We need to be out there meeting people where they are at, and at their level.

I remember mixing with the relatives and friends of Andrew and Kelly after their wedding here.. I listened to the people with whom they shared the biggest proportion of their lives. Andrews boss was eager to tell me what a great difference there was in Andrews life since he came to know the Lord. He said this ‘The difference in Andrew has been noticeable over the last year since he came to you’ WOW It showed! It was obvious, not just to people here at this church - but people out there in the real world!

God raised up an army of ordinary people, took residence in their hearts, filled them with Himself and empowered and equipped them to go into all the World and make disciples.

What He didn’t do was call them out of the world, into a holy huddle, an elite separatist group. God raised His church to become attractive by it’s positive lifestyle and contagious by it’s infectious Joy.

God touches an aching, suffering world through men and women like you and me who have been called by Him. We are saved to save. Worship the Lord in the way in which you live your life.

When I started work as a young 15 year old - i was shown this strange contraption called the clocking in machine. you turned the dial round to your works number and pressed the plunger in which recorded the time you came to work. How about ‘clocking on for God’ tomorrow.

What a story of contrasts. First we read of the way in which the believers were together and shared everything - their was an honesty and openness a concern for the well being of everyone - so much so that they pooled their resources.

Underlying the togetherness of the fellowship and the great things that were being done in the name of Jesus, we have this tragic story of Ananias and Saphira, two people who held back what they had promised to God and in lying to try cover up their foolishness brought the full vengeance and wrath of God upon themselves.

The story of Ananias and Saphira is a shocking but powerful lesson to us all that when Gods people make promises to God, He expects us to mean it, and when we do, He amazes us in the way He moves in great power through us. Renege on them and lie to the Holy Spirit and you face the wrath of God.

It's not about finance. It’s not about giving up everything They sold their property but didn’t have to give every part of the proceeds - it was the fact that they pretended to everyone else that they had given every penny - It's all about truth, it's about honesty,

It's about being honest to God and each other

It's about being faithful to God and each other

It's about being committed to God and each other

'All the believers were one in heart and mind. No-one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.

It's about understanding on the one hand, what the 'fear' of the Lord means whilst on the other hand, it's about seeing what great things can be accomplished when man gets real with God. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.

It's almost as if God is reminding his people that 'If you will, I will'.

It's not about money or great giving - Ananias and his wife Saphira didn't bring down the anger of God because they only gave part of the profits from the sale of the field, they were punished because they lied to the fellowship and to God. Peter asked Saphira, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?" "Yes," she said, "that is the price." Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?

This story speaks to me about integrity and truth. It's about being true to God and meaning it, when say we will give Him 'all their is of me'. It's all about being true to God, ourselves and the fellowship.

When William Booth said 'God shall have all there is of me', he meant it and was faithful to God in that. It wasn't an easy thing to say. Here was a young man with all his life before him, yet he saw the dire needs of a forgotten, neglected people and gave his life to not only ease their suffering and lift them out of their hopeless situations by giving them a voice and championing their cause, but he determined in his life, to introduce them to a loving compassionate Saviour and Powerful Almighty God.

What about you and me? Can you remember when you made your promises to God.

The time you said 'God shall have all there is of me'. What's happened since that time?

Think of the song that we have sung to God in our worship

All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give I will ever love and trust Him In His presence daily live I surrender all, all to Thee my blessed Saviour, I surrender all

I wonder sometimes, when people sing it, if they really mean it - they sing it to God in the fellowship of other believers, but then, it’s easy to sing such songs of commitment with the crowd but then when we’re on our own, only pay lip service to them.

God sees and wants us to be honest, unlike Ananias and Saphira, - we can’t hold back - renege on the things that we have promised without incurring the consequences. -

When we offer God our lives, our service, our love - it’s got to be for real and it’s got to be forever or we let the fellowship, ourselves and God down.

When Isaiah was called by God. He accepted the call of his own free will, gave himself to the cause. Not for one week, one year or even ten years but for as long as it took.

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

God called Isaiah and commissioned him to be His mouthpiece to the rebellious.

11 Isaiah said "For how long, O Lord?"

And Gods answer? For as long as it takes!

God expects His people to be faithful to their promises, after all, He is faithful to His.

He didn't promise us an easy trouble free life. Riches and prosperity

But He did promise that He would be with us when we go through the trials of this life

‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ that He would take care of our daily needs ‘Ask and it shall be given you’

He also gives forgiveness for our sins, empowering for mission and an inheritance of eternal life in Glory with Him.

When I consider the benefits of Kingdom life that begins now, I think I got the best part of the bargain.

God made forgiveness and Salvation possible to me and you by sending His Son, Jesus to die on a cruel cross. He suffered the nails, all I had to do was to say 'I'm sorry Lord'.

God’s Riches at Christ’s expence.

No wonder God was angry when Ananias tried to short change Him. God gave His all, all they had to do was to be honest. I believe that God even gave them one last chance to tell the truth, but they lied to Him and so received the just rewards of their deceit.

They were all show. They tried to look good to others in their fellowship by doing and saying the right things. Even though they thought they could deceive the fellowship, they couldn't deceive God and paid with their lives.

verse 13, says that 'no-one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people, nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord, and were added to their number.

It would seem to be a contradiction, that immediately after Luke tells us that ' no one dared join them', he continues by saying that' more and more men and women were added to their number'.

No one else dared join them for good reason, because God expected honesty and commitment. As the Apostles stood for Christ, they stood against the authorities, in their open defiance in the way in which they continued to testify to the risen Lord, after being commanded not to - that took guts and commitment - no lip service here.

Last week we read how, following the healing of the cripple at the gate of the Temple, Peter and John were arrested, thrown into jail, but because they found favour with the people, the authorities had let them go with the warning to stop preaching.

We read how they went back to their fellowship, rejoiced and gave thanks to God for their safe return, and then proceed to pray for more boldness to continue to do the things they had been warned not to. No wonder no one else dare join them, It took guts. You had to be fully committed.

Nevertheless, more and more believed in the Lord, and were added to the church.

Honest, committed - men and women of integrity who were true to their word - what you saw was what you got- no holding back - when they said ‘all for Jesus - I surrender’ they meant it - whatever it cost.

What I believe God is showing us here is that honesty, openness and integrity are part of the foundation and framework of His Church and just as God stands by His promises, we too have to be as sincere - we’ve got to mean it - we’ve got to be together and strong if we hope to face the worlds opposition.

The early Christian began a revolution, that continued against the most aggressive opposition. They were persecuted, whipped, put into prison, killed, yet the grew bolder and their numbers increased at a phenomenal rate. You had to know who were the genuine Christians, no wonder God sifted out the pretenders, the hypocrites, those who were all show, or even in it for what they could get out of it.

There are many folk who stop short of full commitment to God, even though they know they should, for fear of what others, their family, their friends, their workmates might think. God wants us to be men and women of our word. People He can rely on. People He can trust. People He can use, and when we are that kind of people, I believe He will amaze us as we experience His power flowing through us to minister to the needs of our fellowship and bring Him praise and honour.

Acts 5; 12 'The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade. No-one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.'

A couple of years ago, our Bible fellowship went to the St. George's Hall, for the healing night. That night, I looked with sadness on the hundreds of people who accepted the invitation to step forward for healing. So many people, so many needs and problems.

I thought, why Lord do these people have to come to St George's Hall for healing, why can't they go to their own ministers, in their own fellowships? Where are we going wrong?

I pray that we will catch the vision of what God wants to do here at Idle, and that we will be open to His leading, His equipping, His empowering, and that we will move forward in His name to attract others into our fellowship, not only by our programme, and the warmth of our fellowship but because people see God in action.

They need to see the living God in a living Church. Where they can experience the power of an Almighty God who is able to meet their needs, whatever they are.

We need to be a fellowship that has the courage to believe what it preaches, that Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday and forever, and is ready to forgive and receive His rebellious children back into his fold and family.

You can't short change God. There's too much to do and so little time to do it in.

All over the World people are having to stand up and be counted. To be what they profess to be, without compromise. In this country it takes some people all their time to get out of bed to come to church.

The sad truth is that if their not careful, one morning they may wake up to find that there isn't a church to go to.

No wonder God sieves out the shirkers, the pretenders, the hypocrites, the Ananias and Sapphire’s. God needs people who will stand for Him and mean it.

Let’s make sure that we are that kind of people - Gods people - Gods church

Sunday 5 July 2014Over the last two weeks we have looked at how God brought His people together and began to grow His church through fellowshipping together, sharing His word and testimonies.

We then read how He empowered them by the power of the Holy Spirit to continue the work that Jesus had begun of reconciling fallen man back to the Father through repentance, forgiveness and filling them with the same mighty Spirit that came upon Jesus to ’show Your power O Lord’ and build ’Your Church’

We read how Peter, the unschooled fisherman preached a sermon that brought 3000 to their knees.

We read how Peter and John exercised their new found power by reaching out to the cripple just outside the Temple and bringing healing to him.

We read last week how they were arrested and kept in prison overnight but because the people could SEE the healed man before them, the elders dare not jail them . When asked by what power or authority this man had been healed they answered ‘in the name of Jesus who you crucified’ Wow! what boldness these ordinary men had now.

Acts 4; On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

The first thing they do on their release is get together with the fellowship and join together in prayer

And what a prayer; they asked God 'Why is the world against you - why don’t they recognise Jesus?And their plea?; 'Lord enable us, give us the right words to say that will bring people back to You' - Show your power O Lord, through us in the name of Jesus

And the building shook - WOW! If the church today prayed prayers like that - WOW we wouldn’t be in the state we are today.

Just as God shook His church in those days, I believe that He is doing it today. But this time He’s shaking - not just the building but the Church to be the living body of Christ in the world today.

Read 2 Peter 1; 1-4 Here we have it, the rallying call of the faithful to look at their faith and calling and stand amazed at the transforming miracle of God's Grace. An army of ordinary people, called out of the obscurity of everyday living to become the living stones with whom Jesus would 'build HisChurch'.

God was shaking His Church and building 'a Kingdom that cannot be shaken', there before their very eyes. God was calling, equipping and empowering ordinary folk to do His extraordinary work in reconciling the wayward rebellious world back to Himself. People who themselves were living proof of what God could do in a persons life, when He took control.

These 'ordinary people' became 'extraordinary people', living examples to the world. They were Gods calling card, Gods sample book, people who like Jesus made the Word 'Live'. People who not only embraced the faith, but who 'realised the mighty power of God' in their midst. Theirs was no mere 'living by the book', merely accepting a set of rules and regulations, they embraced the truth, and became the 'living word'.

They were more than hearers of the word, they were doers. A people who saw the power of God with their own eyes, and were not afraid to harness that power.

We can read with excitement of their mighty deeds, their bravery amidst persecution, their defiance against all that was evil and wrong with their society, and because of their energy, tend to forget that they were ordinary people, folk like you and me.

God, in His word is saying to you and me, this is what it's all about. what you are reading are not just heroic stories relegated to the pages of a history book. This is about changed lives and lifestyle, it’s about re-direction, transformation, and what I am doing here, I am still doing in the lives of 'ordinary people' like you. Jesus came not only to give us' life in all it's fullness, abundant and fulfilling lives, but He also gives the 'power for living'.

2 Peter 1;3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 'When Peter says 'everything we need' for life, he means exactly that, 'all that we need, so often is translated into all that we want, or think we need.

Peter knew full well what it was to try to do things in your own strength, and suffer the despair that failure brings. He toiled all night fishing the ocean depths without success, until that is, he listened to Jesus and did it His way. Peter learned the bitter lesson of failure through self effort and by being obedient to God, saw the mighty results of 'His Divine Power'.

When Peter talks about 'His Divine Power', he knows what he is talking about.

That's the Mighty power that raised the dead Lazarus,

The mighty power that moved the stone and raised Jesus from the dead,

The Divine power that flowed through Peter and John causing the lame man to walk.

Power that 'Shook the buildings as the fellowship prayed following the release of Peter and John from prison.

And that 'Mighty Power' is still available today. We can’t hope to succeed in our own strength, we need the mighty inner strengthening of Gods power.

The Shepherd boy David was armed by God, after he had accepted the challenge. David faced the task, knowing that God would be with him. He probably had no idea how he, a young lad, used to tending and defending sheep, could possibly stand up against the fiercest, the biggest, the mightiest opponent of his people, Goliath of Gath, yet, he trusted God first, and accepted the challenge.

He declined the protection that man offered him, knowing that in this battle, the armour would hold him back. He was being called to fight a spiritual battle, that was outside the scope of this worlds protection. He needed the full armour of God, spiritual armour that would enable him and equip him to stand up against the evil one.

He knew that all he needed was ' Gods Divine Power' and as he placed his trust in God, and swung his sling, he felled the mighty Goliath. These early Christians moved forward in the power and the strength of the Lord, they trusted Him.

Imagine the thrill of expectation and excitement there would have been in the crowds that flocked to see Jesus performing the mighty miraculous things that He did. That time when they crowded round the tomb of his friend Lazarus.

Jesus had said to Martha, 'I am the resurrection and the Life' that's new abundant life now, and resurrection life for eternity. 'He who believes in Me will live, and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die, do you believe this? 'Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the Gloryof God?' and with the words, 'Lazarus come out' Jesus broke the silence of eternity, as the 'four day dead' Lazarus came out of the tomb. That's the Divine power of Almighty God, and that's real power! The same mighty power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead!

On one of the occasions that the risen Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples following His resurrection, Jesus told them to 'do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift My Father promised you, in a few days time, you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses, from here to the ends of the earth'.

They were obedient to the command of Jesus, and as a result, received the Holy Spirit, the empowering from on high. His Divine Power. They became participants in the Divine Nature.

When Peter and John were confronted by the cripple who had spent all his life begging at the at the entrance to the Temple, I don't think that there would be anyone more surprised than themselves as they found themselves telling the man that they couldn't help him financially, but we'll share with you whatwe do have, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. They took him by the right hand, helped him to his feet, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong, and he walked, then jumped and literally danced for joy into the Temple as he praised God.

There are hundreds of folk out there, just outside the church, who are struggling with life's problems, people who accept their way of life as 'the norm'. They need to see Jesus in us. They need to see a victorious people, who even though we suffer the same hardships as they do, have found the answer to this life and the gateway to the next, in Jesus Christ. Ordinary people like them, who have found the secret of real life now and eternal life to come. People who have found the source of real life, the Divine Power for living that can only be found in Jesus Christ.

That’s not just power to do the miraculous - that’s the power to stand against temptation, power to show strength over weakness, power to stand firm when everything seems against us - power to live victorious God glorifying lives.

That’s not just power to do the miraculous - it’s the power to have boldness to speak up for God and live lives that encourage others to seek Him themselves.

As God’s people we need to seek to get to know Him through His word and to seek Him in prayer. That’s why the two things we sign up for as both Junior and seniors soldiers is to Pray and to read my Bible.

I love the way that Peter and John, on their release, went straight back to the fellowship, and had a thanksgiving prayer meeting. They realised that without the strength that only God can give could they ever hope to speak out for Him.

The early church began to realise the extent of that power as daily they saw God at work before their very eyes. As they felt the power of God flow through them, they grew ever bolder, and were able to face whatever the world threw at them.

They prayed for boldness to press forward, they asked God to stretch out His hand to heal and show forth His power through them. And in a show of force, God shook the building where they were, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

The source of this dynamic power, is Jesus, who gives power for victorious living and His power is still available, to equip and empower the church to let the world see God in action through the lives of people like you and me.

I pray that we will become that effectual people that God requires today to seek the lost, and build His Church.

Sunday 29 June 2014 Acts 3; 11-24 and Acts 4; 1-21

Could it possibly be only eight weeks ago that the followers of Jesus were cowering in fear of their lives following the death of Jesus by the hands of the 'church of the day'? Now, his followers led by Peter, the one who had denied even knowing Jesus, are striking fear into the hearts of their persecuters.

Luke tells us that the Priests and Captain of the Temple guard, and the Sadducees gathered round listening to Peter and John proclaiming the ressurection of the dead through the victory of Jesus on the cross, and that as they listenned, 'they were greatly disturbed'.

Of course they were, their plot to stifle the new revolutionary teachings of Jesus by getting rid of Him, and then scatter His followers by instilling fear into their hearts for their very lives, was being challenged and overturned before their very eyes.

Instead of getting rid of the leader and His eleven followers, the number of believers was growing at an alarming rate, as ordinary people saw the truth of the risen Saviour evidenced in the lives and actions of His followers. The Church that yesterday professed 120 converts, then 3 000, now had over 5 000. No wonder the authorities were afraid! No wonder they arrested Peter and John andthrew them into prison!

Ordinary men who had been baptised with the Holy Spirit were now doing the same kinds of things that only Jesus was able to do before as God empowered them. All they had done was help a cripple to His feet. It was God's mighty power at work within them, that had healed the cripple, and caused him to stand on his two feet. It was by the power of God that the lame man had leaped and danced for joy.

Of course, Peter and John had not claimed otherwise. They had right from the beginning, given the glory to God. 'It is Jesus name and the faith that comes through Him, that has given this man complete healing, as you can see'. Ch 3; 16

Of course, their accusers knew that that was what they were saying, they wanted to hear it from their own lips, a kind of confession that would convict them. And so their accusers asked ' By what power and what name did you do this?' And then it happenned again 'Wham' Peters preaches the same sermon to them that he preached to the crowds after the healing, with the same content that he used to bring the crowds to repentance on the day of Pentecost.

''It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is "`the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.' Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

The world out there, the man in the street, might be able to argue the truth or otherwise of the Bible, but he cannot dispute the truth that should be evidenced in the changed lives of those who profess to know Jesus, people like you and me. No one can dispute your testimony, especially if the evidence is before them.

People might doubt the healing of the lame man by Peter and John, but no one could dispute the fact that Christopher was healed here one Sunday morning, and baby Adam too - even his parents started to come to Church because of that.

People today might doubt the claims that blind and deaf people were healed in the Bible, but no one can dispute the fact that I was miraculously healed from both a non-functioning kidney and a deadly deep cancer.

People might doubt the Bible truth where Jesus encourages people to trust Him for their needs by saying ‘ask and it shall be given Thee’ but no one could dispute the way in which God answered the prayers of David and Dorothy Murden for a pram for an unmarried mother who had turned up that evening at their front door. The very moments they were praying about it, God was speaking to Beryl and me to phone David and tell him that we had a pram that we didn’t think we would need any more - do they know anyone who needs one? The triangle of prayer was used as the prayer of faith went up to God in the middle and we became the supplier of the pram

‘Ask and it shall be given thee’ sounds too good to be true, but no one can challenge the way in which after a single prayer meeting for New chairs costing over £5 000 that God spoke to a man walking down Hollings hill to ring me up and offer the full amount the very next day.

No one can doubt the fact that God gave us the full cost of 27 windows (£13 000) or even raised the £175 000 to build the Community hall.

No one can doubt it when God provides the money for the new roof, decorations, new chairs, curtains, painting etc 15 years before we needed it! ( £180 000)

Acts 4;14 tells us that the priests couldn’t doubt that the lame man had been miraculously healed because he was there in front of them. The court looked at Peter and John, and recognised someone in them who they had seen before - Jesus. It was obvious by the boldness and eloquence of these unschooled fishermen, that they had been in the presence of somebody greater than themselves, who had not only influenced them, but whose very presence shone from them.

The evidence was there to see. The healed man was there as living proof! Thats why they could only let them go with a warning, to stop spreading their message amongst the people.

Peters answer ? 'No way' , ' we couldn't if we wanted, we can't help testifying to what we have seen and heard'. Talk about boldness - When their accusers looked at Peter and John, it was obvious that they had been with Jesus.

The church, this corps will only grow when people like you and I decide to spend more time in His presence, seeking Him in prayer and reading His word and trusting inthe mighty name of Jesus.

The corps will only grow when people like you and I start to live by the word, and let the word become alive in us. Only when people out there see Jesus alive in us, will they want to know Him for themselves. Last week we ended our morning meeting with the hymn, Only as I truly know Thee, can I make Thee truly known. Only show the power to others which in my own life is shown’.

Another song we sing is 'As we gaze on Your Kingly brightness, so our faces display You likeness. Ever changing from Glory to Glory, mirrored here, may our lives tell Your story, Shine on me, Shine on me'..

I wonder if we do - that’s not just on Sunday when we meet together like this - that’s when we discipline ourselves to seek His presence every day of the week.

When mum told us to make sure that we mixed with the right company or else, she was right. We are known by the company we keep. Goes to prove that if we spend more time in the company of Jesus that something of Him will rub off onto us - we will grow to be like Him.

We are called to be Gods 'Showhouses' to let others 'see' the quality of His workmanship. 'Successful conversions' encourage others to employ the same builders, to do the same for them. 'Changed lives' attract others. The Kingdom grows, by the faithful witness of ordinary men and women whose lives have been changed by a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus!

It was obvious by their faces, their changed lifestyle, their new found courage and boldness against all the odds. It was obvious by their obedience and faith in Almighty God that resulted in the miraculous, that something had happenned in the lives of Peter and John. They were living proof, living testimonies that could not be disputed.

How effective is our testimony, our witness?

'The authorities were greatly disturbed, but many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand'. When Peter and John stood up to face their accusers, it was obvious that they had been with the Son, Jesus, because it showed on the faces, they 'shone for Jesus'.

How can we mirror Jesus? By spending more time in His presence. You can always tell a sun worshipper from someone who spends his time indoors by the colour of his skin. Spending time in the Sons presence, shows.

Smith Wigglesworth wrote ;''God has privilaged us in Christ Jesus, to live above the ordinary plane of human life. Those who want to be ordinary and live on a lower plane, can do so. As for me, I will not! For the same unction, zeal, and Holy Spirit power is at our command as was the command of Stephen and the Apostles''

The reality of the truth of the gospel is the same today as it was on the day of Pentecost. We are called to give our natural lives to God so that in us and through us, by the power of His spirit, He will reveal the 'supernatural' things of His Kingdom.

There are those in the Church today who deny the ressurection of Christ and the virgin birth, there are those who try to explain the miracles in scientific terms, those who cannot accept creation etc, Why? because they are outside mans understanding. It takes Faith to believe

When will mankind learn that we worship an ' Awesome, extraordinary and supernatural God, who is above mans limited understanding, who is a God of the impossible?

I shared on Wednesday afternoon about the 'Church on the Way' in California that is pastured by Jack Hayford, who wrote the chorus ’Majesty’ . When Jack Hayford took charge of the church their were about 25 members whose average age was 65.

During his ministry it began to grow rapidly. One of the new members was Pat Boone who eventually became an elder in the Church.

Pat Boone had joined the church after being excommunicated from his previous church because he believed in the gifts of the Spirit. That church believed that the gifts were only for the early church at Pentecost. Pat Boone joined ‘the Church on the way’ and soon was holding bible classes in his home. Which attracted other celebrities like Doris Day. He even baptised over 250 people in his swimming pool.

We can’t live our lives as if Pentecost was a 'one off' a spur from God to get the church off to a good start. God is for real today and His promises still stand

I dared to say last week that many churches today have changed places with the cripple and the healer. Instead they have become the Spiritual cripples who reject the helping, enabling hand of Almighty God as extended to them by Jesus.

What did Peter and John do when they had been released? they went back to their own people and had an almighty prayer meeting, asking God to give then more boldness and courage to continue to do the very thing they had been warned not to do, witness to the truth. 'Stretch out your hand O Lord, to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus'. After they prayed, the meeting place was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and immediately saw the answer to their prayer.

They were bold and uncompromising in their witnessing because they 'knew that Jesus lived within them by His Spirit' and therefore anything, even the impossible is now made possible in the name of Jesus by the power of His Spirit.

When will the church, and that means you and I, waken up to the awesome truth, that Jesus Christ isn’t up there - waiting for us in Heaven - He’s here Now - today.

He wants us to want to spend more time with Him - to discipline our lives - to rearrange our schedules if needs be to include Him in our daily lives.

We used to sing what is a very challenging song Have you any room for Jesus, He who bore your load of sin. As He knocks and asks admission, Sinner will you let Him in Time for business, time for pleasure but for Christ the crucified, Not a place that He can enter in the heart for whom He died

What do we give our time to - what is it that takes priority in our lives - Jesus? - the promises we made to Him? - it something we need to ask ourselves.

In closing we sang - All to Jesus I surrender

Sunday 22 June 2014 Acts 3:1-10

Imagine how Peter and John must have felt - for the best part of their lives they had been ordinary fishermen - that was - until they met Jesus. They lived three years with Jesus,

Three extraordinary years when their pre-conceived ideas of what life was all about were turned completely round -

Three years with Jesus, who showed them what God was really like and how He wanted them to live their lives.

Three years getting to know Jesus, His purpose and His plan to reconcile the world back to the Fathers heart.

Three years of preparation for Kingdom life in all it’s fullness.

Three years that were a foretaste of things to come when instead of watching Jesus demonstrate Gods power, they were told they would one day harness that power themselves and do even greater things. - They were experiencing New Testament Church and New Kingdom Life - NOW.

A couple of weeks ago we read how the promise that Jesus had made them before His death, that they would be baptised in the Holy Spirit - actually came true at Pentecost.

Here we are a few days later when Peter and John are going to the Temple to pray and they encounter a cripple, begging, on their way in. As we read the familiar story of the cripple made whole we can see that what God did through His faithful disciples was not to just meet the mans immediate needs of money but to get to the root of his problem, the reason why he was there in the first place - his useless legs.

Peter and John didn’t have the means to give the support the man cried out for - but what they did have was the same mighty power that Jesus had shown in His own ministry - and that was what the man really needed.

Imagine how Peter and John felt when they held out their arms and ordered the man to stand up and walk ‘in the name of Jesus’! Wow! That’s exactly what he did, God healed him and gave him the means of supporting himself. The crowds saw the power of God through ordinary men like Peter and John.

This was the beginnings of the early church - I dread to think what the followers of Jesus would think if they came back today and saw what the church has become.

We live in a crippled society - every Sunday, on our way to church, we pass streets of people who are at rock bottom, and I’m not talking about financial rock bottom but people struggling through life without real purpose or real hope. Their purpose is to survive another day and hopefully live on to a healthy retirement. Every day we mix with people who don’t know what they are missing in life - people who don’t know the difference that an encounter with Jesus would make in their lives.

What a stark contrast to the church of today is the Church of the Acts of the Apostles.

Here was a vibrant, alive, active powerful church. a church with a mission, a church with a message, a church that by it's very lifestyle became a challenge to the world.

A church that wasn't content to sit in the nest, instead, empowered by the Spirit, it ministered to a crippled world.

The cripple in our bible reading saw money as the answer to is problem, He was soon to learn that money isn’t always the answer to mans need - what man really needs is Jesus. ‘Silver and gold have I none but such as I have I give unto you, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk‘. And that’s what he did. The first miracle the New testament Church experienced itself was when God unleashed His mighty power through the amazed Peter and John as they ministered to the cripple.

All they had to do was simply stretch out their hands in faith to him, God did the rest and brought the power of healing through them. Here they were, feeling their wings, finding that 'Yes' they could fly. They’d ceased paddling and were prepared to swim.

These disciples were learning to trust God and take Him at His word. He said that if they loved Him and obeyed Him He would come and live within them and by the power of the Spirit within they would become like Him. ‘Greater things will you do than I‘.

This miracle of Peter and John shows us how God was building and mobilising His church into an active force. An army of ordinary people empowered by the love of an extraordinary God. It was their ‘time to fly - to spread their wings and catch the wind of the Spirit‘. ( this was one of the songs we sang earlier in our service)

These were ordinary men and women, who have been tipped out of their nests and as they stepped out in faith, found that God has empowered them with the Holy Spirit. They tested their wings, and as they harnessed the mighty power of the very breath of God, soared to heights they never dared dream of. On eagles wings.

The church was so powerful in the early days and as it lived in the light of the gospel of Christ, it grew so fast that those who were confronted by the awesome truth were all too eager to come on board. The Church from Pentecost onwards grew at a phenomenal rate even amidst fierce opposition and persecution - there would seem to be no stopping it.

What’s changed today? - why is it that the church today seems to be fighting for popularity, trying to think of desperate measures to bring a lost people back into its churches.

The early church revelled in what sadly, today’s church sees as boring an unattractive -things like fellowshipping around Gods word in bible study and prayer meetings - the secret to their growth was - not to spend all their energies on trying to arrange social activities to bring people into their churches - they didn‘t have any churches - they met in the Temple courts and each others homes. Gods word tells us that God doesn’t live in Temples made by man - God lives in His people - we are the temple of the living God.

Yesterday some of us went to hear the awesome testimony of two Mormon Elders who had left the Mormon Temple and become Christians. They found the truth by simply spending time reading the New testament. God showed them that they had been deceived by the Mormon Church into accepting a false doctrine that they said was scriptural but when they searched the scripture themselves found that they had been misled. They now concentrate on getting to know the truth about God by knowing what Jesus has to say.

They had been challenged by their son Micah, himself a Mormon missionary who had read through the New testament and God had opened his eyes to find the truth in Jesus. Puts a whole ne slant on the bible statement that says ‘and the son shall set you free’.

The New Testament Church concentrated on getting to know God. They met together in fellowship - sharing their experiences of the Master. The early Christians simply sought the truth in Christ, sought His indwelling and were enabled to go and live the truth and because of that, God blessed them andbrought others into their fellowships. Scripture says that ‘daily GOD added to their number those who were being saved’.

Acts 2; 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in thetemple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

They sought God through the sharing of the word of God and prayer. They shared together their experience of God and were amazed by Gods power evidenced through themselves. They shared what they had with the needy among them. They were together in thought deed and action.They met every day - they couldn’t get enough of one another - they ate together. They were an influence to those outside their groupings who liked what they saw.

The result was that God liked what He saw so much that He brought others into their fellowship.

That’s real church. Energies channelled into life changing experiences that in themselves were enough to attract people from outside their groupings to come and join them.

Those who came to the presentations I did about William Booth would have seen the phenomenal growth and spread of the Salvation Army in those early days. How through just one man and his wife, God mobilised a mighty force of men and women who were fired up with the Spirit to go and meet the needs of the poor and the marginalised and introduce them to Jesus. Millions came to Christ throughjust William and Catherine.

The result was that within the space of a few years, this new movement, this new Army of Salvation spread throughout this country and into other parts of the world.

This wasn’t man’s doing, but God through man. No Jumble sales, No Coffee mornings, No special events to raise money. These people were poor and didn’t have any spare things to sell anyway and even less money to buy. For some reason today the church spends more time and energy in trying to raise money than it does to seek God’s guidance. We have been called to ‘ go and makedisciples’. To raise the spiritually dead, not money.

Just look around you at this place and the building next door - we didn’t have to organise money raising efforts to pay for it all, it was financed by the providential hand of God who I believe has done it because He has plans for this place.

Peter and John told the lame man that it wasn’t money he needed to get him back on his feet but the hand of God. It was the miraculous empowering of God that enabled the cripple to walk - run - jump for joy.

In the light of what we know about Peter and John and the early church, maybe we should take a step back and look at our own experience of Jesus and ask ourselves -am I living the life that Glorifies Jesus in bringing others to know Him.

We can learn a lot from the experience of Peter and John.

I would suggest that the Church today, instead of being like Peter and John is more like the cripple? Just outside the church on the fringe of something great and exciting, but for some reason or other content to carry on as it has done for the past 30-40 years.

The cripple had been on the doorstep of the Temple, just outside the land of promise - since birth. For 40 years he had been a spectator but never a participant. Until Peter and John came on the scene, the cripple had known nothing else - he had no option but to sit and watch with envy, as others went about their daily lives - never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined what an encounter with Jesus would do to his lifestyle.

He’d been there forty years - that’s all he’d ever known, but this day was going to be different. Two men he’d probably seen many times walking towards him on their way to church. Today he reaches out to them - maybe before they’d probably thrown him a few coins - but today was going to be different. This time, the men themselves were different - they’d been filled with the Holy Spirit - today they had more to offer than simply money.

This was to be the turning point in his life as, touched by the mighty power of Jesus, his life would never be the same again. ‘He touched Him and made him whole’

The man who yesterday lay begging by the roadside now had a future, a hope. The chance for his dreams to be fulfilled. The man now had independance, the means of providing for himself, freedom to go where he chose, a new start, a new begining, restoration after 40 years of dependency. More than that, he had found a friend - a Saviour - a living Lord. His life would never be the same again.

That’s the message of the gospel. That should be the message and aim of the church to bring transforming life changing power. That’s the message that we as a church need to take to heart personally first before we can take it to the world out there.

Only as we truly know Thee can I make Thee truly known. Only bring the power to others, which in my own life is shown

Jesus still offers New lives for old. When people give Him their lives - He takes them, cleanses them, fills them with Spirit and hands them back - completely transformed.

New hopes, new beginnings - a new life. The spiritually blind see, the spiritually deaf hear, the spiritually lame walk - and are gradually transformed into the likeness of Jesus so that they themselves change from beneficiary to become people through whom God blesses others, passing on the message of hope.

Only as we truly know Thee - how do you know Him - what is Jesus to you.Does He take first place in your life? How well do you really KNOW Jesus.

It’s not just knowing about Him - but really knowing Him that makes the difference.

A story is told of how a woman a former drug addict, now infected with the HIV virus was the speaker at a local church. During the service she told her sordid story in raw detail and of the life changing experience of accepting Jesus Christ as her Saviour.

A street person named Roger stood at the back of the church, listenning to every word. After church, he approached John, one of the stewards at the back. John was tired and thought that Roger was after money. The smell of Rogers breath and his whole body, made John reel - after a few seconds John reached into his pocket to pull out a few coppers for Roger. ‘Here’s some money’ he said‘now clear off’.

Roger looked intently at John and said ‘Look, I don’t want your money - I’m going to die out here - I want to know the Jesus that girl was talking about.

Only as we truly know Thee can I make Thee truly knownOnly bring the power to others, which in my own life is shown

What did Peter say? ‘Silver and Gold have I none - but what I have I give you - in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk’ and he not only walked but he danced into church. Peter had come to know Jesus and now because Jesus lived within Peter, the lame man could experience the healing power of Jesus flowing through him.

Who do you identify with? The disciples empowered by Jesus or the cripple in need of transformation. Be honest - and if you need to - reach out to Jesus. We can’t read God’s word, and ignore it - we’ve got to believe it - act upon it and claim it for yourself.

The Church of God in this village and in this country needs to get to grips with why it exists - what its’ purpose is and what it is doing about it. The Church is the Living body of Christ in the world today and it’s mission is to save sinners and introduce them to Kingdom life in Christ Jesus. We’re not hereto merely entertain, but to know Christ and make Him known to others.

William Booth said 'We are not sent to minister to a congregation and be content if we keep things going. We are sent to make war...and to stop short of nothing but the subjugation of the world to the sway of the Lord Jesus' (From an address at the 'War Congress' of 1878)

On the 26 May 2003 in the morning meeting, I said this; Like many other churches our weekly calendar is full of social programme and all well attended. Unfortunately the prayer, worship and teaching programme is not as popular with only a few attending. We seem to have plenty of time to talk to each other but precious little time to talk to God. Plenty of time to talk about each other but precious little time to talk about God - that was eleven years ago - what’s changed?

Not a lot The question is what are we going to do about it?

Fathers day 15 June 2014 Luke 15;11

Today we celebrate Fathers day. Every Sunday is Fathers day in the church! The day set apart as a family of God to come together as a family to our Fathers house. We come to fellowship together as we meet with our Father. We come to celebrate His love for us and to tell Him that we love Him.

It's an Awesome truth to know that God is our Father. His word reminds us of that. Romans 8; 14 " All who are led by the Spirit of God, are Sons of God. We should behave like God's very own children, adopted into the bosom, the very heart of His family and calling Him 'Abba' which means Father. His Spirit speaks deep into our hearts and tells us that we are God's children, and because of that, we will share His treasures.

We are doubly blessed in that not only do we have earthly Dads, but we also have a 'forever' dad in our Father God. Paul when he wrote to the Ephesians told them that it was 'God's plan, that we should all be adopted as His children through Christ for God's pleasure. We are His very own children, and as such, all the benefits of the Kingdom of God are ours. We are the children of the King!

Every time I read the story of the prodigal son I am reminded of the story we used to read when we were young about a woodcarver called Geppetto, a lonely man who decided that to keep him company, he would make himself a puppet. He lovingly carved the figure of a little boy who he called 'Pinocchio'.

That night, Geppetto looked into the night sky and with a great heartfelt sigh cried out, 'I wish my little Pinocchio was a real little boy'. The story goes on to say that because he was always doing kindnesses for others, his wish was partially granted, and when he woke up the next morning to find that his puppet although still made of wood, didn't need the strings any more, he could walk unaided, and he could talk.

At first all went well and Geppetto enjoyed his creation that was until Pinocchio fell into bad company. He soon got attracted to the things of the world. They looked exciting, and he got into all kinds of problems. He soon became a prisoner to the wild side of life, and started to tell lies to get out of trouble, and we all know what happened to him then,- his nose began to grow, and he soon learned that when you start telling lies, things get worse and you get deeper and deeper into trouble. Pinocchio finished up on Pleasure Island with all the naughty boys and soon wished he was at home with his master, Geppetto.

A bit like the creation how God made mankind in His own image and was pleased with what He had created bit it wasn’t very long that His creation started to wander off into the ways of the world and reject the Father.

When Pinocchio eventually came to his senses, and set off back home, he found that his creator had gone looking for him. In the same way that God in Christ Jesus came looking to reclaim His own lost creation. Pinocchio is now a different person, he has learned his lesson. His life changed, he wakens to find that he has been transformed in the very person his creator had wanted and intended him to be all along - a real little boy.

'Daddy, I'm alive, he cried out in delight! 'This calls for a celebration, said Geppetto, and they had a party. "Where's the old wooden Pinocchio?" all the neighbours asked. "There!" said Geppetto, pointing at his new son. "When bad boys become good, their looks change along with their lives!"

It’s easy to see where the creator of Pinnochio Carlo Collodi got the inspiration for his story isn’t it? The stories are so similar in that the main characters are a loving forgiving father, and a wayward son who returns to the safety of his fathers love.

A Father who loves his creation so much that He was willing to come to earth to seek His wayward child, and welcome him home.

A Father who loves his children so much that he was willing to forgive us, and accept us back into His Family.

He is our Father, and we are His children, He loves us dearly and longs for man to forsake his waywardness, his rejection of Him, and come back into the fold and family.

Jesus told this parable to show the awesome love of our Father God who loves His creation so much that He was willing to come to earth in Christ Jesus and seek the lost to reconcile them back to the heart of the Father.

It’s interesting isn’t it to note who comprised the audience when Jesus told these three parables. We are told that the Tax collectors and sinners all gathered round Him whilst the Pharisees and teachers of the law stood round muttering.

On the one hand there were the sinners who knew they needed to hear what Jesus was saying and the Pharisees, the leaders who should have been shepherds to the flocks and tending the sheep, teachers who were neglecting to reach the lost with the message of Gods love. They were very strong on the law but lacking in love and compassion. They may have had it all up here ( head) but were lacking when it came to here (heart)

God loves His creation and will go to any length to show His love and reconcile all the lost back into the Kingdom and the Fathers heart.

Way back in the Old testament we are told how, through the prophet Ezekiel, God poured out His anger on the way in which the leaders in the Church had continually failed in feeding the sheep in their care.

Ezekiel 34:10 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them. 15: I myself will tend my sheep and make them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

As we know, Jesus was that Good Shepherd sent to show man what God was really like and how He was concerned for the lost.

The Pharisees didn’t like Jesus, full stop! They didn’t like His style. His love for the outcast, the sinner was offensive to them. They accused Him of being a friend of sinners. They accused Him of being a Wine bibber and a glutton always in the wrong company.

Luke 7;33 Jesus told them, ‘John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, `He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, `Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners".' But wisdom is proved right by all her children." A kind of ‘make your mind up’

Their idea of Church was far removed from His. His church was out there. His Church were people not buildings. His idea of Kingdom was different to theirs.

This is our Father, and we are His children, He loves us dearly and longs for man to forsake his waywardness, his rejection of Him, and come back into the fold and family. The world needs to see the love of the Father in me and you. The world needs to know the compassion of Jesus. The world needs to see kingdom values in our lives.

I am reminded every fathers Day of the time when we were expecting a new Divisional leader in West Yorkshire. We liked the one we had and wondered if the new on would be as good.

My son-in-law, Tony Brown, had been on a retreat with the Salvation Army and come back to Idle. He heard of our concerns and said that whilst he had been away at the retreat he’d met the son of the new leaders, Liam Parker and, in Tony’s words, ‘If the father is anything like the son, then you have nothing to fear’ and he was right, Mike and Joan Parker were great

Remember the answer Jesus gave to his disciple Phillip when he asked Jesus to ‘Show us the father’. Jesus said ‘If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the father. How many times do you hear the phrase ‘He’s just like his dad’ usually by some facial feature but more often than not, by the manerisms, or the attitudes of the son.

The great thing in the family of God is that the father is not just seen in the sons but in us all. As we spend time with our heavenly Father so something of the father rubs off and can be seen in all of us.

Wouldn’t it be great if people we shared our live with could see something of our Father God in you and me. Jesus said ‘If you love Me and obey Me, then I and the father will come and make our home within you- WOW .That’s how we can be like Him as He lives in and through us.

What a privilage, What a responsibility. That would really make our Father - God’s - day.

Sunday 8 June 2014 Pentecost Read Acts 2:

Wow! Whats happening? Only seven weeks ago these men were in hiding cowering in fear that the authorities would get them.

Jesus had gone - left them - then three days later they hear the startling news that He is alive - He is risen from the dead - He appears to them, they get heartened - He starts to unwrap the mysterious promises that He made earlier that He has to go but will not leave them - but will come to take up residence in their hearts.

Then the ascension when He rides the cloud back to Heaven with the command to Go into all the world and preach the good news - what? How? When? and then the command to go and wait in Jerusalem until the promised Holy Spirit is given. In other words, wait at the ready - receive the empowering and then Go and tell everyone the good news. They go - they wait - they pray - they talk - they grow together and seek to reach out to God for the promise.

The day comes - it’s just like any other morning- could this be the day when the promised gift is given - they don’t know. The important thing was that they were now together - united in purpose and desire. Then Woosh! it came

They were together - together in situ but also together in Spirit, thought, motive etc

The AV says it this way ‘they were all in ‘One accord’

There are many churches up and down the country where folk would say that they were together - equally there are many disjointed church fellowships where the people are not together, they have problems, cliques and as a result are heading nowhere. To build His church God needed a together people - folk who loved being together and worked together. - but more than that - a people who were of one accord in mission and purpose. People who didn’t just go to church but were to become Church - ‘the living body of Christ in the world today’ people who knew that they had been called out of the world to live the truth and share the truth with others.

I said last week that God wanted to make sure that His church comprised of people who were ready, willing and able. Ready and willing to move forward to build His church and so by giving the Holy Spirit, enable them to do just that. That’s where we left the followers of Jesus last week - sent back home to wait until the promised Holy Spirit had been given.

The Disciples waited and the day of Pentecost came Pentecost was a Jewish festival ( Shavuot) that celebrated the giving of the Torah, the Law, on Mount Sanai - the Ten Commandments.

God used the celebration to great effect. Just as the marketing agents of the giant food packaging industry re-design their packaging to encourage us to buy into their products, so too God re-packaged the Truth.

The Law that yesterday was embeded in stone and firmly fixed in mens heads would find its way to their hearts. Obedience to God would stem from a hearts desire to be obedient and not because it was enforced.

God gave the law way back in the Old testament times from Mount Sanai - in the new testament we read how ’the word’ became flesh in Jesus Christ. God showed mankind through the example of the living word, Jesus, how He wanted His creation to live and act.

God did the same thing at Easter - the Jews were coming together to celebrate the Passover, ( Pesach) the time when God redeemed His people from the darkness of slavery and brought them out of darkness into the light of freedom as they marched to the promised land. Centuries later God sent His son Jesus to make a way possible out of the darkness of sin into the light of the new gospel and set them on the path to the promised Kingdom of Heaven.

The parralels are so plain to see - in the same way that he Passover pre-empted Salvation, so too the giving of the written Law on mount Sanai would prempt the giving of the Holy Spirit in the New.

The ‘strictures’ of the Law would be repackaged and re-presented as ‘freedom’ in the Spirit. The Law that yesterday was embeded in stone and firmly fixed in mens heads would find its way to their hearts.

They were all together in one accord when;2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit

God reached out of Heaven and touching His church released the power of the Holy Spirit into the hearts of the waiting disciples. Boy did it feel great - and now they were ready to go - no stopping them - the days of waiting are now over - the day of the Spirit are here.

God as revealed in His son Jesus is now manifest in man by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is in effect reaching down from Heaven and saying to the watching world - these are my beloved sons in whom I am well pleased - and then sending them out in the power of the Spirit - anointed and ready for anything.

All through History God has been reaching down to mankind - but man has been too preoccupied with his own little existence to bother and been content to muddle on in his own strength, growing further and further away from the father whom loved them.

What God seems to be saying to the world is - and although these are my words, I believe that this is what God is saying to us today -

‘ I am nearer than you think’ I am here in my people, my creation, and the kingdoms of this world will soon be mine as my people spread the Good news of my Love for you - my creation. There is a better life than the one your making for yourself. A life filled with real love, real freedom, real Joy, real purpose hope and peace

I sent Jesus into your world to show you that there is more to life than this! He came to pay the price for your sins on the cross - to show that My forgiveness is available for those who repent. He came to give you life in all its fullness and I want my world to know that - Mission accomplished He came back to heaven.

That’s why I made My Spirit available to those who have themselves embraced the good news, accepted Jesus as their Saviour, and are filled with a desire to share the good news with their fellow men - starting where they live, breath and have their being‘. To do that, you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit

That’s Gods plan, that the message of the cross and the reason for Pentecost.

Jesus knew that man could not continue His work in his own strength and they would need the inner strength of the Holy Spirit of God. Just as He began His ministry with the anointing of the Holy Spirit in the river Jordan, so too He wanted to anoint, equip and empower His church, His followers with the same mighty power.

Jesus had been with His followers - now the Holy Spirit was to come and live within them - empower them from within to live the life and glorify the Father.

One of the great, and I think one of the most talked about yet misunderstood aspects of Pentecost was this; 6 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs - we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"

Many today talk about the gift of speaking in tongues - which is one of the gifts of the Spirit - but this is not what I think this particular episode is about - this is about equipping His people to speak the language of their communities.

This is about empowering us to get alongside people of our own communities and speak their language in order to be better understood.

O how we need to be able to get alongside our neighbours, our work colleagues, our friends, our families and tell them about Jesus.

The fact that all the different speaking people heard the word of God in their own language, once again mirrors the account from the Old Testament about the Tower of Babel -where, because God was angry about the disobedience of His people who had obviously not learned their lesson when God sent a flood to destroy the earth, again, because of mans disobedience - God confused their language into many different tongues. Today through their obedience to His word, God would end their confusion by giving them the united language of the Spirit and so they each one heard what the Apostles were saying in their own language.

This was an important message - God through the Apostle Peter brought the truth of the Gospel, the truth that Jesus was the promised Messiah to a people who had been a party to His death and that they should repent, accept Him as their Lord and Saviour and move on in the power of the Spirit to spread the good news throughout the world.

The effect was staggering as now, full of the Spirit, Peter, the ordinary fisherman bacame the Billy Graham of his day and 3000 people were converted in his first sermon.

It must have been an awesome day

‘Send the fire’ - we sing today - give us the promised holy Ghost - we want another Pentecost - send the fire today - send the fire - today. When William Booth wrote that - he knew what he meant - he knew what the Holy Spirit could do - In his own lifetime. this pawnbrokers assistant was Gods vehicle to raise up a mighty army that moved through this land and all over the world - mobilising thousands to live the life and make disciples. William Booth prayed it with passionate heart to reach the lost and bring them to Jesus - that was his purpose in life - ‘I have found my destiny’

In his own lifetime he saw Gods hand of revival and renewal bless his prayers and give him the desire of his heart. He saw the outcast, the lost, the broken, the rejects of society all come into a fullness of life through transformed lives. He saw God breath new life into the church. He experienced the fire power of the Holy Spirit that energised the weak and empowerd them for service ‘We want another Pentecost’ - ‘send the fire’

On Wednesday we looked at the 1904 Welsh revival when Evan Roberts a young preacher from the coal mines of Southern Wales was so impassioned by God, for the people he ministered to, that he waited on the Lord and prayed the same prayer for 11 years- ‘Lord bend the Church and save the world. The disciples of Jesus had only to wait seven weeks - imagine waiting 11 years!

God saw his sincerity, heard his prayer and the Holy Spirit began to move in the Methodist Church where Evan Roberts ministered. The whole church was moved by the Spirit and the fire spread out into the streets until all the town became a praying, praising people and 150 gave their lives to Jesus - within months that had risen to thousands

What hope does Pentecost hold for us this morning.

It is so easy to get depressed at an apparent lack of growth in our own churches and give in. What we need to do is Wait upon the Lord, seek Him with all our hearts - humble

ourselves before him - Ask Him to anoint His church, you and I with His mighty Holy Spirit to equip us to serve the age in which we live - here in our own Jerusalem - Idle - I believe then we will be on the right track to seeing change.

‘Wait - wait’ - said Jesus - they waited and woosh - it happened. They stayed in touch so that they could be enabled to get in touch with the people and make disciples.

Sunday 1 June 2014 Acts 1:1

Last Thursday was Ascension Day. The Day when Jesus ascended into Heaven - went back - Mission Accomplished

He came to make it possible for man to receive forgiveness for their sin by giving His own life on the cross as a sin offering.He came to show man, by example, the way to live in harmony with God and one another.He came to establish His Church - not a building , but a BODY of redeemed people who would continue the mission He began by becoming witnesses of the transformation Jesus had done in their lives

His mission was of course to reconcile mankind back to the Fathers heart and enable them to become citizens of a New Kingdom, the Kingdom of God

Lets look at the event that Luke reminding us about here Luke 24; 36- 53

This event took place when the two disciples who had met with the Risen Lord on the road to Emmaus went back to Jerusalem to meet up with the rest of the disciples who confirmed that Jesus had appeared to them also.

Mark 16;9 Tells us that the ascension was from the peak of the Mount of Olives

It was a familiar place to Jesus The Triumphal Entry of Jesus riding on a Donkey into Jerusalem took place over and down the Mount of Olives (Luke 19:29-44)

It was in the garden of Gethsemane at the Mount of Olives that Jesus prayed with His disciples just before His arrest - it was there that He was betrayed by Judas that He was arrested and taken away,

The Mount of Olives was a very important place to the Jews - it was on the Mount of Olives that traditionally the Sanhedrin lit fires to signal the whole of Jerusalem see that God was to be worshipped - being the highest place it could be seen for miles around.

It was on the Mount of Olives that Jesus prophesied about the sign of His second coming and the end of the world Matthew 24; 3 pp 993

From the Mount of Olives, Jesus is leaving earth - Mission Accomplished? Not quite. Before He leaves Jesus wants to make sure that those He is leaving are, as the song says, Ready, Willing and Able.

He has spent three years grooming His team, teaching by example, emphasising their need to be Ready and Willing to complete what He had begun. He wanted to leave them with instructions to wait for the promise that would make them Able to continue the the mission of spreading the good news throughout the whole world that God loves His creation and desires that all men should be saved.

He’s going just as He said He would so that the Holy Spirit could come and live within His Followers - that’s His disciples then and since and people today who would be fired up to win the world for God. He’s going but He’s going to come back to live IN His followers so that He can continue His missionTHROUGH them.

I love the words of Paul to the church at Ephesus (Ephesians 4;14) we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ WOW! To have the living Christ living in us - together, we, the Church, are the Body of Christ. What a privilage - what a responsibility!

That‘s why He told His followers "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit." you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Wait in Jerusalem I hate waiting - especially when someone has told you that something great is just around the corner. Why wait? we live in a world that says that you don’t have to wait - you can have it now - today. We have instant Coffee - instant meals microwaves that enable you to prepare a dinner in minutes. We live in a world of ‘ I want it and I want it now.

As children we don’t like being told to wait and as we grow up, that impatience gets stronger. We don’t like waiting for the bus, waiting for the kettle to boil - waiting is not something that comes easily. We want it NOW! Yet the Scriptures tell us that waiting is important.Isaiah 40; they that wait upon the LORD will renew their strength

We often see the word wait as a state of inactivity - idly tarrying - but I see this as a time of - waiting on the Lord - seeking His presence - wanting to know His will and purpose for our lives. Waiting on Him - serving Him - getting close to the real Jesus.

To stop what it is that we are busying ourselves doing in our lives both outside and inside Church and redirect out time and energy in seeking to Know Him and His desires for our lives. To slow down on our busyness and seek a more Spiritual active life.

Jesus said ‘Be still and know that I am God’ That’s another thing we’re not very good at - being still. I wonder how ‘still’ we are -, how prepared we are to simply ‘Wait’ on the Lord. Isaiah 64:4 Since ancient times no-one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.

The disciples, the followers of Jesus would have been used to a busy schedule as they supported Jesus in His earthly mission. Now is the time to seek Him spiritually in prayer as they wait for the next stage in God’s plan - that is the coming and empowering of the Holy Spirit.

They would remember the promise that Jesus gave them before He was taken from them - ‘If you Love Me and obey Me, I and my Father will come and make our home within you - What He is saying is I have to go so that the Holy Spirit can come and fill you. "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised,

Next week we will be celebrating the fruits of that waiting time that the disciples ‘endured’. Pentecost is the time that the church, the body of Christ went public - out onto the streets - not cooped up in mausoleums - dead lifeless ineffective churches.

Next week we celebrate the birthday of the real Church - the church down our street - the time when Gods people realised the awesomeness of His indwelling Spirit as they began to move in the spirit and see the very power of God flow through them -

Those early converts not only encountered the awesome truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - but knew by experience that Jesus had come to live in their hearts and therefore was integral in their thoughts, their actions, their living. This was revival at it’s best -

O how we yearn for the fire of the Holy Spirit to once again set His church ablaze so that the world will see the awesome power of God in us drawing mankind to the feet of Jesus.

Jesus said ‘Wait’ stay just where you are - don’t move out of Jerusalem until you receive the gift My Father promised. Just where you are that, to them, was Jerusalem - that’s where their ministry was to begin and spread outwards into all parts of Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth.

God gave the promise way back through Joel 2:28 I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. WOW

And that’s not all - And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved;

Jesus said ‘Wait’ stay just where you are then - you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Even Idle, Thackley, Eccleshill and Cottingley

Empowered - equipped - enabled to be Witnesses to what they had not only seen with their own eyes but been a part of - These humble fishermen were to be transformed into fishers of men just like Jesus said they would - but not until they had been filled with the Holy Spirit - just like Jesus. They would be equipped and enabled to do the same things that Jesus had done - Empowered by the Holy Spirit from within.

After Jesus had said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

It’s time to Stop staring up the steps and get back to Jerusalem - wait there and when the time is ripe, I will empower you to step up the stairs!

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying.

And what did they do? They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

That’s the secret - wait but don’t waste your time doing nothing - sitting on your hands as we read last week- pray - seek His will and purpose for your life and ask Him to come and equip you to do what He desires of you in His Kingdom building work.

Lord teach us to be obedient and wait on You in prayer until the empowering, the enabling of the Holy Spirit comes and equips us for mission.

That’s what Church is all about - First and foremost, it’s to build a spiritual body of Christ that will be effective in transforming peoples lives to live abundant lives here on earth and prepare them to become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. WOW!

Sunday 25 May 2014Last week, after looking at the way in which God gave irrefutable evidence that Jesus Christ had arisen from the dead, we looked at how, through His chosen disciples, Jesus would continue His work of reconciling the world to Almighty God. Jesus chose His team and nothing was going to stopHis mission continuing through them. The death and resurrection was Gods master plan to make forgiveness and salvation available for the who-so-ever.

The only way that man had grown to believe they could be forgiven of their sins was by offering a living sacrifice on the altar - and so once and for all time, God provided the sacrificial lamb - Jesus. He’d already shown them how that was possible when Abraham showed his obedience to God by being prepared to offer his own son as a sacrificial offering - God saw his obedience and soprovided a lamb instead.

We read about the transformation in Peters life when God forgave him his past and gave him a future as an Apostle and builder of the Church.

On Wednesday night we read Peters 2nd letter to the young churches where he started bypresenting his calling card which stated he saw himself as first and foremost a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ.

God in Christ Jesus , began a good work in Peter and the other disciples and as we read through the New Testament we can see how successful He was in carrying it on to completion throughout their lives. I believe that the same master plan is continuing today in the lives of those who He has called to come apart from the world and work in partnership with Him and one another to build His Kingdom.

Last Sunday I concluded my message using the words of another Apostle of God - Paul to the Philippians 1;3 - I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident ofthis, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion untilthe day of Christ Jesus.

Paul certainly knew what he was talking about - called as he was by Jesus, the risen Lord, on the Damascus Road. Saul , as he was known then, Saul was heading for Damascus with authority from Jerusalem to get rid of the Christian Church that was growing in that region. Jesus stopped him in histracks and redirected his whole life as he heard the voice of the risen Lord.

Saul the persecutor of the Christians became Paul the persecuted andhis life was completely transformed. God took the zealous - devout Saul who thought he was doing what God wanted him to do and showed him the truth in Christ so that He could re-direct Sauls zealous actions to the benefit of the new Christian movement that was being born.

This morning we are going to look at another of Paul’s letters, this time to the Church at Ephesus. Written whilst Paul was in prison standing firm for what he believed.

I was draw to this as I was thinking about the way forward for our fellowship here at Idle. In a few weeks time you will all be invited to come along to a formal meeting. Hopefully at a suitable time for everyone. where we can discuss this together.

In preparation for this, I took another look at a 20 page booklet I had produced some ten years ago that charted the progress of the Corps since Beryl and I had undertaken the position of Commanding Officers of Idle Corps in 1995. At the end of that booklet I referred to Pauls letter to the Ephesians4;1-6 Lets look at this verse by verse using both the NIV and the Message

1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

The Message....... here's what I want you to do. While I'm locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

I wonder what course your life has taken since the day that you accepting Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

For some it’s maybe been a gradual realisation as you’ve progressed through life - no blinding lights like Paul just an acceptance - a way of life. To others maybe it was a definite period in your life when you started to see the folly of mans selfish ways and the wisdom of following a more acceptablelifestyle. Many folk in churches around the country this morning will be there because it’s the thing they were brought up to do on Sundays.

It was like that for me - brought up in the Salvation Army by my mum, I progressed through the juniors to the seniors, the band, the choir etc. But there came a time when God wanted to show me that there was more to just going to church - and that was to BE CHURCH - an active part of the body of Christ in the world today

There I was, a young married man - very involved in Church life - everything seemed fine until I became unwell and had to go into hospital for a serious operation on my kidneys. I had the operation but unfortunately my kidney didn’t respond and I was attached up to a machine that the side of the bed that acted as a kidney. . After a few weeks they decided I needed another operation to try to get my own kidney working.

The evening before the operation, there I was, ’Nil Orally’ above the bed and a white gown neatly folded up on the table at the side of me bed.

Beryl asked me if I’d prayed about it. ‘Prayed about it?’ I exclaimed, ‘I’ve prayed ’til I’m sick of praying, there’s no-one listening to me’. I couldn’t believe that I was saying this - I’d thought I was a good Christian. God was showing me that I didn’t really know Him as He wanted me to.

Later that evening, Lieut’s David and Dorothy Murden, the newly appointed officers of Idle Corps came to see me. Before they left, David asked if they could lay hands on me and ask God to heal me. ‘Whatever’ I said and that’s what they did.

I went to sleep that night and the next morning I awoke to a deafening silence - the pump had been turned off at the side of my bed - the white operation gown had been removed and it was 9am -in those days, everyone was awakened around 7am - but I had been allowed to sleep in. When I asked the nurse what was happenning she simply said that I didn’t need to go down for the operation as for some reason, my kidneys had started to function again.

Instead of feeling elation, I felt aweful - I cried out to God, ‘Lord I’m sorry I doubted You - I want to know You like they ( David and Dorothy) know You. A week later I was home and when I was able to get to the Army, I went every day and knelt at the mercy seat asking God to forgive me and to MakeHimself known to me. I didn’t know it then, but I was praying the prayer that Paul prayed for the church at Philippi ( Philippians 3) ‘I want to know Christ and the power of His resurection’.

By the end of the week, as I knelt there at the mercy seat I felt as if the windows of heaven had opened and I knew without a doubt that God had answered my prayer. I danced all the way home and shared the good news with Beryl. My life changed from that moment on.

One of Freddie Mercury’s songs says ‘There must be more to life than this’ and I found that there was as God called me to become an active participant in His Church.

Like Zacchaeus, like Paul, I was called from being just an onlooker to become a participant.I believe that that’s Gods plan for us all - He wants us to see that ‘yes, there is more to life than this - there is more to Church than just going - He want to take us deeper - to show us that He wants us to know Him and not just know about Him - He wants to be real to us - the risen Lord wants to comeand live within us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

That’s why Paul cries out to the Ephesian church ’ I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off down some path that goes nowhere - I want you to live a life worthy of the calling that you have received.

I often conclude my prayers with the phrase ‘Lord I pray that my life will be worthy of your death. In other words Jesus , You gave your life for me on the cross and I want to live a life that will glorify You and be worthy of Your sacrificial love to me’.

Paul in verse two goes on to show us how we can live that life

2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

The Message…….and mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, butsteadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences. You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly

Such good practical advice for a church that wants to grow both spiritually and numerically.

In Humility Our responses to one another is a key to Church growth. A church where people don’t get on, always mumbling with a discontent that is shared between a few rather than brought out into the open to be discussed and worked out. The Bible says ’think more highly of one another - look to the interests of one another - become a together people - showing a united front to the world outside -Humility is not a natural quality of the human race - it’s one that needs working at. Pauls letters state many times that he is a servant - Peter in the opening lines of his second letter addresses himself as both servant and apostle. No lording over but a simple desiring to work alongside one onother.Jesus Himself showed humility in His servant attitude when He washed His disciples feet.

In Discipline - now there’s another word - discipline. To toe the line - to be true to your calling and the promises you have made, like to pray and read the bible - To gently, but firmly and with conviction follow the ways of the Lord. Not in fits and starts - but steadily. How? By being patient with one another, bearing with one another in love.

Sadly, patience with others is not one of the natural qualities of a church fellowship and as for bearing with one another in love. I know some churches where people can’t get on with one another, some can hardly bear to be in the same company as one another - that’s definitely not the way Paul sees that church should be. The marks of a good fellowship are Humility, Discipline, patience, love, unity. Whatever you do - do it in Love.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

That’s not just working together in the mechanics of church - Coffee mornings, parent and toddlers, Friendship Club, Family film nights, but also together in the spiritual things of our church like Bible Fellowship, prayer meetings. To desire to be together in our spiritual journey and growth - as Paulsays in verse 3 -

3 There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

The Message…… You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.

There’s the key - togetherness -

My opening remarks in the 20 page brochure I told you about earlier that I presented to the whole church 9 years ago were these;

The Church will not grow unless the whole fellowship accepts shared responsibility and takes ownership of a collective vision. A divided Church will not grow, but a together church will both divide and grow

I’m going to conclude this mornings message with the same way in which I ended that brochure when I told how dissapointed I had been when on holiday the previous year I went along to the local Salvation Army one Sunday Morning.

The band marched in and sat in their place on the platform, then the songsters and the singing company who sang without a glimmer of joy on their faces. It seemed to be all show and no substance - people dressing up in fancy clothes and going through the same old routines that they had done every week for years.

It was all a million miles away from the things that exciting ministry that Paul is writing about. If we’re not careful, church can be like that - all show and no substance.

After the meeting I spoke to the Officer and said what a glorious opportunity they had being able to go witness on the beach. I was shocked but, not surprised by his response ‘O we don’t go witnessing on the beaches we’re not into passing trade - we have band concerts on Saturday night to draw people in. I suggested that Jesus might have a different approach - to which he didn’t respond.

Near the end of our holidays we went as a family to ‘Uncle Sam’s all American Circus’. No animals - just people doing all kinds of unbelievable things, From start to finish, the show was accomplished, exciting, daring and as different as it could ever have been from the ‘show’ we had attended the Sunday before.

Every artist was dedicated to his or her part of the show and obviously had disciplined themselves in training for their tasks. They had reached perfection through the gruelling exercise and did amazing things which showed that they must have put hours of practice into perfecting their acts.

The whole show bustled with life and the audience loved it. Everyone in the show helped the other acts, they worked together as a team, they were a together people. Theirs was a togetherness that I didn’t see in the show last Sunday.

After the show, the ringmaster went into the ring and shouted out ‘Did you enjoy the show?’ to which the enthusiastic audience cried ‘Yes!’ ‘Well then, will you do me a favour and tell all your friends’ towhich we responded with a loud united ‘Yes’

What I saw in the circus was more like Paul’s pattern for the church. This was a living community of together people dedicated to their task. This was a great picture of what a vibrant church should be like. A show that was so good that it attracted the enthusiasm and respect of all who witnessed it. A family, a together people that encouraged you to invite others to come along and sharethe joy of it.

The next day before we came home we were in the busy street of Scarborough and saw the circus people, the performers and their team of helpers, together, handing out leaflets inviting people to come along and watch their show. The word of the Salvation Army Officer rang out in my ears ‘we don’t go witnessing on the beaches we’re not into passing trade’ How sad.

God wants His Church to be like that - you and me - this fellowship. Firm in our calling and eager to share our faith with people around us, our family, our friends. Work colleagues, neighbours, shoppers in the Supermarkets, mums in the playground etc.

I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off down some path that goes nowhere - I want you to live a life worthy of the calling that you have received. and mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences. You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together,both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.

Sunday 18 May 2014 Over the last few weeks since Easter we have looked at the case for Christ as presented by the various witnesses in the New testament - I wonder what your response has been as we have read them and explored what they are saying to us.

I remember when I was called to give evidence as a witness to the result of an accident

That occurred in the high street at the end of Walter street. I was leaving the band practice one Tuesday night around 1959. As I rounded the corner at the end of Walter Street I saw a large lorry that had backed into the front of what was then Kayes Confectionary shop, just below the Chemists.

I couldn’t believe it and was told later by the police that the driver had parked his car just outside what is now the car park of the Idle Clinic but then was a row of houses, and gone into Bottomleys fish shop, which is now a dentists, to get some fish and chips. It appears that either he had not put his breaks on sufficiently to hold the lorry or his brakes were faulty.

I was called to stand before the judge and give evidence. I told them that I saw the lorry that had shunted into the walls of Kayes obviously because ‘the driver had not applied his brakes enough’ - I was stopped and reminded that I had been called ‘to give evidence based on what ‘I actually saw’ and not ‘what I thought had happened‘.

Thankfully the evidence that we have been presented with over the last few weeks and in fact what the world has been able to read for the last 2000 years is well supported and corroborated by a host of eyewitnesses - people who had seen with their own eyes the risen, walking, talking living Jesus Son of God.

Over the last few weeks we have read and marvelled at the amount of actual evidence supporting the truth that Jesus Christ is alive and needs to be responded to by each one of us. Lets remind ourselves of what we have been sharing since Easter when Jesus died after being cruelly tortured and nailed to a cross.

The witnesses present the evidenceThe empty tomb seen by the women on that first day after His deathSeen by Mary who was sent by Jesus to tell Peter and JohnThe empty tomb seen by John and Peter who run back to tell the other disciplesThe risen Lord appears to the two disciples on the Emmaus Road who run back to tell the other disciples who are hiding in an upper room for fear for their lives.The risen Lord appears to all the disciples except ThomasThe risen Lord appears to Thomas and the othersJesus appears to the disciples out fishing and reminds them of their calling

Of all the exciting accounts of the appearance of Jesus following His resurrection, this is my personal favourite. I love the way in which God, when inspiring John to recall these events, brings the realisation that this account, mirrors the very first calling of the disciples of Jesus.

It's as if Jesus is saying to His friends, let's start all over again! Let's go right back to the beginning, when I first called you to be My disciples, (Luke 5) only this time, you have the experience of hindsight. This time, you have the experience of having lived with Me for three years. I said then, that in the same way as you are fishermen now, one day you will be fishers 'of' men.

Peter was broken- he‘s let Jesus down when He needed him the most. In a wonderful way Jesus took Peter in that broken state, and healed his hurts, and made something beautiful of his life.

Jesus showed all His disciples that even though they may abandon Him at times, He will not abandon them. It’s the same today, just as many give their lives to Jesus and over the years fall short of their calling and in many ways abandon their calling, He will never abandon us.

On Wednesday night atour Bible fellowship, we looked at Paul’s letter to the young church at Philippi - I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1;3 - As I prepared the Bible Fellowship my thoughts turned to Frank and Jean who I was privileged to enroll as Soldiers in January this year after 30 years away - He who had begun a good work in them those many years ago is not letting go and will carry it on to completion.

That’s what Jesus is showing here, that just as He began His good work in and through His disciples, He will not let it go to waste.

Peter has been with Him for three years - learning, seeing, experiencing the greatness of Almighty God as revealed in Christ - Jesus is not going to let that go to waste and so He calls Peter afresh and gives him the chance to be reinstated as a disciple of His.

The response of Peter was to devote the rest of his life to God and actively share the good news with everyone.

We have been called by Jesus to be his disciples, we are precious to Him, He loves us, and doesn't want to lose any of us. And so even though we may let Him down sometimes, even to the point of denial, His forgiveness is always available.

Jesus forgives Peter and reinstats him -commissioning him to build His church

The Summing up The evidence is overwhelming - not just one sighting but numerous and to so many.

The Verdict so that you might believe that Jesus is the risen Saviour. Jesus the risen Saviour who calls His disciples to witness the truth and then go and tell others the good news of Gods love for them and His desire that they should be reconciled to the Father - re-birthed, re-born of the Spirit.

Our response should be to believe by faith - unlike Thomas who refused to believe until he had seen for himself. Jesus told him that more blessed are they who have not seen yet believe. A few weeks ago I said that where the world says ‘seeing is believing’, the Christian knows that ‘believing is seeing’ in other words, as we believe by faith and not by sight - God opens the eyes of our heart to see Him in all His glory.

On Wednesday I showed a film of a young 12 year old boy singing the chorus ‘Open the eyes of my heart Lord - I want to see You’. That boy is Christopher Duffley and American lad whose 14th birthday is tomorrow. What made the song so meaningful was Christophers story.

His unmarried biological parents were tested positive for Oxycontin and cocaine, which meant that he was born prematurely. Weighing in at less than two pounds, Christopher was born permanently blind along with a myriad of other health problems, requiring a seven-month hospital stay. Initially placed in foster care, Christopher’s aunt and uncle soon took him in as their own, eventually adopting him at the age of 2. As if the his existing health problems weren’t enough, Christopher didn’t speak in full sentences until the first grade and was later diagnosed with autism.

Despite the challenges, Duffley’s adopted parents (who are devout Christians), didn’t lose hope or waiver in their faith. And as the years passed, they would discover that Christopher displayed tremendous giftings in music. Particularly fond of Christian praise and worship songs. It was moving to watch as he read out loud from a braille bible the words from 2 Corinthians 5 ‘Brothers, we walk by faith and not by sight’.

We then watched as he sang the song ‘Open the eyes of my heart Lord -I want to see you’ The conviction in his voice and the testimony of his life was moving. To be physically blind and yet see Jesus - not by sight but by faith.

As I said earlier, over the last few weeks we have been presented with Heavens case for believing as presented by eyewitnesses like John and Peter - I wonder what our response is to all that.

Peter became a great evangelist for God and at Pentecost this man who had even denied knowing or even being with Jesus stood up and preached a sermon to over 3000 people who were saved an gave their lives to God. He then went on to let them SEE the power and presence of Jesus in him when along with John , reached out his hand to a cripple begging outside the Temple doorway and brought healing that enabled the man to walk and run into the Temple.

Peter went on to write a couple of letters that have became two of the most challenging books of the New Testament designed to encourage and fuel the faith of the young churches in his day and the hearts of Christians today.

1 Peter 2; 9-12 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and aliens, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

You are a chosen people - just like the disciples were- I wonder if that’s how you see yourself? Chosen by God to be His witnesses. In the worlds eyes you might be seen as just one among millions - no different from the next person, but in Gods eyes you are special - one in a million - once you were a nobody but now you you’re special to God - you’re the people of God who have received forgiveness and destined to live for the praise of His Glory. I urge you then, says Peter, as foreigners - aliens -exiles - I like that - not of this generation because you don’t have the selfish mind set of this ungodly world - I urge you to keep away from sinful desires that battle for your mind. Instead live such good lives that people around you, who don’t know God may see the goodness of your life that comes as a result of your relationship with God. As Jesus said earlier - ‘they will know that you are Christian by your love’

We are chosen, just like the disciples were, to live lives that speak volumes for God.

That’s why He reminds us of our calling - the time when we first gave our hearts to God and promised to live according to His will - to do it His way - to His praise and Glory. To put Him first in our lives - above everything else.

I wonder if we have lived up to our promise to God. If not, like Peter realised, Jesus will never abandon us and dearly wants to reinstate us again, give us another chance.

As Paul writes Philippians 1;3 - I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Why? Because He wants to - because He loves us and because we are a chosen people belonging to God, called out of darkness into the most glorious light so that we can share with others the glorious testimony of how He has called us out of darkness into His most glorious light.

Remember Christopher the blind autistic child - he might live in a physical world of darkness but he is filled with a glorious light of God who has opened his spiritual eyes to see God in all His Glory. Because of that, Christopher stands out as a witness to all that God can and is doing in his life.

What about you and me - how does our life measure up to what we have just read and what I believe God requires of our lives. God needs people who are willing to take a stand for Him and His church. People who, even if they have failed to live up to the promises they made maybe years ago, regarding their commitment to God. Know that He is willing to forgive them and give them another chance to prove they want to live to the praise of His glory. That’s what Jesus is showing here, that just as He began His good work in and through His disciples, He will not let it go to wastePeter has been with Jesus three years - learning, seeing, experiencing the greatness of Almighty God as revealed in Christ - Jesus is not going to let that go to waste and so He calls Peter afresh and gives him the chance to be reinstated as a disciple of His.

Paul to the Philippian church I pray that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1;9

A loving insight and knowledge gained through a deep insight of knowing Him. that will make them pure and blameless for the day of Christ - to the Glory of God.

What Jesus is saying to Peter is, lets go back to the beginning and start all over again this time with hindsight and with a greater knowledge and experience than before.

How about it?

Sunday 11 May 2014 John 21; 1-14 Let’s do it His way

Of all the exciting accounts of the appearance of Jesus following His resurrection, this is my personal favourite. I love the way in which God, when inspiring John to recall these events ( Luke 5), brings the realisation that this account, mirrors the very first calling of the disciples of Jesus.

It's as if Jesus is saying to His friends, let's start all over again! Let's go right back to the beginning, when I first called you to be My disciples, only this time, you have the experience of hindsight. This time, you have the experience of having lived with Me for three years. I said then, that in the same way as you are fishermen now, one day you will be fishers 'of' men.

Luke 5 tells us about the calling by Jesus, of those first disciples. Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennasaret with crowds of people, flocking round Him, all trying to hear Him speak about God. The thronging crowds were pushing forward, and getting a little out of control. Jesus saw two empty fishing boats, one belonged to a fisherman called Simon Peter. He got into Simon's boat, and asked him to put out a little from the shore, and He continued to teach the crowds from there.

When Jesus had finished speaking, He said to Simon Peter, " Put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Simon's answer was, "Master, we have worked hard all night, and we haven't caught anything. But, because You say so, we'll have another go."

Imagine his shock when the nets became full to bursting! He wouldn't be able to believe his eyes! As we said last week, 'Believing is seeing'.

Peter’s response was to fall on his knees, and acknowledge his lack of faith, "Lord,

I am a sinful man". He had listened to Jesus speak about God, and the Kingdom, and then after seeing the power of God in Jesus, he realised his sinfulness, and bowed at the feet of his new Master.

Jesus not only revealed Peters need to change his lifestyle, but also, what was possible to those who are obedient to Him. Jesus then used the miraculous catch of fish, as an illustration of what He would do through Peter, and the other fishermen, if they gave their lives to Jesus. " Don't be afraid, said Jesus, for from now on, You will be fishers of men". Do it MY way and you’ll be amazed at the miraculous way in which you will be instrumental in bringing people into Kingdom Life.

Frank Sinatra used to sing ‘I did it my way’ ‘I’ll be a devil ‘til I’m an angel’ who’s he kidding. As Birgitta Edstrom used to sing, ‘I did it His way’ and that’s the only way.

Following the death of Jesus, it would seem perfectly natural to the disciples that they would return to fishing, now that their master was no longer with them. I think that the events that took place on this third appearance of Jesus, are an absolutely brilliant way for Him to get over to His followers, His purpose and plan in calling them, humble fishermen that they were, to be His Disciples.

There they were, in exactly the same situation that they were when Jesus called them in the first place, fishing. "Come on, said Peter, I'm going fishing " hang on said the others, "we're coming with you". So they went out in the boat, toiled all night, and, as before, caught nothing! Then the stranger on the shore appeared, and as if to rub it in a little more, He asked them if they had caught any fish. It doesn't take much of an imagination, does it, to think what the real response of those hard worked fishermen was, tired as they were, and so fed up with failure.

What would make matters worse was when this guy on the shore, whom they thought was a complete stranger, telling them to "cast your net's on the right side of the boat, and you will find some fish" I can just hear them saying ' Just who does he think he is, telling us, fishermen from birth, how to catch fish ?' Thankfully, they did it His way, and Wow!, what a catch! their nets were so full of fish, that they were unable to haul them in.

That's what happens, when we as His church, are obedient to God. When we do things the way that He wants us to do, which is not necessarily the way that we have always done thing, then we will be surprised at the results.

There are too many churches today, who are literally 'Dying on their feet' Why?, because they don't spend enough time on their knees, finding out what God wants them to do, and how He wants them to do it. Churches rushing here, there and everywhere, trying to organise this and that, to bring people in. They are fishing on the wrong side of the boat, they are doing it their way, the way they have always done it . It worked in the past, of course it did, because it was the right way to do it then. Today, God is wanting to do a New thing. He hasn't changed, the message hasn't changed, so what has changed? the world has and the church too.

In 1996 I preached from the same bible reading and said this ‘I believe, that in it's attempts to be popular, and accepted by the world, that the Church has compromised it's believes, it's standards, and it's objectives. Is it any wonder that the those who go to church don't even know what they believe any more. Casting your net on the other side, does not mean compromising ones faith, it simply means being obedient to God, and being prepared to change our methods’

For too long, man has tried to complicate the simple truth, as if it's simplicity is too child like, and therefore irrelevant. The simplicity of the truth has been so camouflaged, so dressed up in ritual, grandeur, pomp and ceremony, that to the ordinary man in the street, it seems so far removed from reality, as to be almost irrelevant. Where the trappings of the church are seen as relics of the past, and simply seen as mere monuments to a God of yesterday, a God of history, a God who is not relevant to the society in which we live.

Is it any wonder then, that when you stumble on the truth, when you begin to unearth hidden treasures, then the news spreads like wildfire. When people see 'new life', then they are attracted to it. What Peter, James and John, and all the other disciples realised is that without Jesus, the reality of the cross and the resurrection, we are lost, and life has little or no purpose.

I always read this replay of that first calling of the disciples as if Jesus was saying to them, let's start all over again, let's go back to the beginning, when I first called you to be my disciples. Maybe God is saying that to someone here this morning. Perhaps Jesus is saying that to someone here this morning!

Maybe a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since you first responded to the call of Jesus, and you've not been as faithful or as determined in your faith as you should have been. Could it be that Jesus is giving you another chance, a fresh start?

I love the way in which Jesus not only recalled the whole of His disciples, His team, together, but also the way in which He spoke personally to the individual - to Mary outside the tomb, to Thomas the doubter and now to Peter who had let Jesus down by denting he even knew Him. In the same way that Jesus knew how Peter would be feeling, so too, He knows how we are feeling inside this morning - Jesus talks directly to Peter and gives Him the chance to take an honest look at his own life, with his failings and his triumphs and gives him the chance to say he is sorry and start again.

Perhaps you've failed, maybe He is saying,‘lets start again and this time lets do it My way! In the words of Jesus’s mother Mary at the wedding of Cana, Whatever He’s saying to you - DO IT!

Not only does Jesus take Peter right back to the very beginning, back to his calling,

the time when Jesus said the disciples would become fishers of men. Today He is going to re=instate Peter to become not only a fisher of men but the Rock on whom He will build His church. Jesus brought Peter back into the fellowship, forgave him every denial, reinstated him, and appointed him as Managing Director of His New Building Business. That's what God does, He takes sinners and makes them into saints. He takes us just as we are, and as we are obedient to Him, as we keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, He changes us into the kind of person that He intended us to be in the first place.

Imagine how Peter felt when Jesus appeared and told them to cast their nets again - exactly as they had done when He first called them - no wonder he jumped into the sea and waded towards Jesus - he couldn‘t wait to get close to Jesus again

Peter headed for straight Jesus, with the other disciples following in the boat.

'Bring some of the fish that you have just caught', said Jesus and prepared a breakfast for them. Jesus would realise that Peter was ashamed of himself, that Peter would feel unworthy even to be in the same room as Jesus and so, taking Peter aside Jesus lovingly asks him the question. ''Peter do you truly love me, more than these?''

Read John 21; 15-17 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’ Again Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’ The third time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep.

As Jesus asked Peter the third time, Peter would be reminded of the third time he denied knowing Jesus, and that brought it all back, and it would hurt him to remember that he had let his Lord down?

Luke tells us that when Peter denied Jesus the third time, the cock crowed, and Jesus held captive by His accusers, turned and looked straight at Peter. The awesome truth is that no matter how much we may have failed Him in the past, He is willing to forgive us. No matter how far we may have fallen, He is there, not just waiting to lift us up - but to reinstate and empower us to become fishers of men..

We have been called by Jesus to be his disciples, we are precious to Him, He loves us, and doesn't want to lose any of us. And so even though we may let Him down even to the point of denial, His forgiveness is always available.

When Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, He already knew the answer, what Jesus wanted, was Peter to realise that truth for himself. He wanted to re-instate Peter, and by asking him three times, Jesus was forgiving him each denial.

Perhaps this morning is the time to give Jesus a straight answer to the question 'Do you really love me ?' Peter was broken, but Jesus took him in that broken state, and healed his hurts, and made something beautiful of his life.

I pray that as we have read the story of Peter, that wonder of Gods love will have stirred our hearts. And if perhaps you feel that you have failed Him, that your life doesn't reflect the beauty of Jesus, then I pray that before you leave here this morning, you will have put it right with Jesus. Lets sing that hymn of confession and committal. Dear Lord and Father of mankind .

Sunday 4 May 2014 Jesus appears to His disciples

Last week we read about two disciples heading for Emmaus and how they met up with a stranger who talked to them about the events in Jerusalem and began to open their minds to see how all that had happened there had been foretold in scripture. As they shared a meal together, He broke bread and their eyes were opened and they recognised that all along it was Jesus Himself. In their excitement they headed straight back to Jerusalem to tell their colleagues that they had seen the risen Lord.

There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognised by them when he broke the bread. Luke 24John continues the story On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. John 20;19

It was that evening when the two who had been with Jesus and had raced back to the other disciples. As soon as they began telling how they had been with the risen Lord, the others confirmed that yes! Jesus had risen and been seen by Mary, John and Peter and even though the doors were locked - as they all excitedly shared the good news of the Risen Lord, ‘Jesus came and stood among them and said ‘Shalom - Peace be with you’ Wow - that’s how concerned He was about the way they were feeling - Peace be with you. He then showed them His hands and side - they were overjoyed - here he was standing right there before them - not a ghost - not an angel - but Jesus flesh and blood Jesus. Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.’John 20; 24

Our first encounter with Thomas is when Lazarus has just died, the apostles do not wish to go back to Judea, where Jews had attempted to stone Jesus. Thomas says: "Let us also go, that we may die with him" Sounds very positive at this stage.

He speaks again when Jesus tells the disciples that He is going away to prepare a heavenly home for his followers, and that one day they will join him there. Thomas reacts by saying, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" (NIV) a slight hint of doubt creeping in? Not being there when Jesus first appears to the disciples, Thomas is by now beginning to live up to his name of Doubting Thomas -

John 20; 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’

Today we live in a world that is full of doubtingThomas’s - people who refuse believe until you show them. But this isn’t just anyone telling him - these were his colleagues, the other disciples.

We sang the hymn ‘I serve a risen saviour - He’s in the world today, I know that He is living, whatever men may say,’An alarming fact is that less than 7% of the population in Britain go to Church and only 3% of them are children.

I find it so sad that today - people still doubt and live in a world of unbelief.

If only they could see for themselves. But hey. Maybe that’s where we come in - Lets look at what John says about Jesus and the reason for His appearances

John 20;30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

These are written that you may believe. I’ve said it so many times, as Eliza Doolitle says words words I’m sick of bloomin words - show me! People need more than just words or written evidence - they need to see for themselves the awesome truth.

There we have it - people won’t believe until they can see it for themselves - and that‘s why Jesus called His disciples and God calls people like you and I. That’s our Job - to share, to spread and to live the good newsThe apostle Peter years later said this ‘But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light

The truth of the word of God needs to be evidenced in the way in which we live our lives. We, who, through faith, believe - we need to let our neighbours, our friends, our work colleagues, our family SEE the difference that knowing Jesus has made to our lives and can make in their lives. Chosen to be His witnesses, the one who called us out of darkness into light.

Just as Jesus walked with the two disciples - He walks with you and me every step of the way.Just as Jesus talked with the two disciples - He wants to converse with you and that’s why He made prayer possible. Just as He forgave our sins He died to forgive their sins also

When people ask you how you know this - tell them - It’s not just head knowledge It’s an inner knowledge made possible because He lives in my heart. That’s what Jesus said before He left to go to Calvary. If you love Me and live in obedience to My will, then I and My Father will come and make our home with you.

We live in a world where mankind has chosen to reject Jesus. Chose to live lives that don’t include Jesus. That’s people around us - folk we meet every day - We live in a society that lives for self and not one another.

We live in a society that has taken God out of Schools. Only yesterday I read about

the way the British Humanist Society are making a book written by one of their presidents available for class in every British school. It’s called ‘The Young Atheist’s Handbook’ Which states "that it is deeply unfair that some people may never experience the joy of knowing that they can lead a perfectly happy life, full of meaning and purpose, without God. The idea that it is immoral to not believe in God is perhaps the most insidious one that parents encourage to take root in the minds of young children."

Subtitled 'Lessons for living a good life without God', the guidebook tells the true-life story of a Bangladesh-born science teacher who was brought up as a Muslim in south-east London. He rejected Islam in favour of atheism following the early death of his mother, and wrote a book detailing his journey to encourage others who are searching to find meaning apart from religion

I wonder what the church leaders will say about this. Judging by the way in which the fundamentals of our Christian faith have been attacked and taken out of our Schools and colleges, I guess the leaders will say nothing. Just one more nail in the coffin for the Christian Society we are supposed to live in -

We need, as the song says ‘to stand up, stand up for Jesus’ People need to SEE Christ in you and me - the word needs to be given flesh in you and me. People need to see the risen Lord in us.

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated St Georges Day. I said then that I would guess that the average person doesn’t even know who St George was, or why we name a day after him, and why is there a red cross called the George Cross on the British flag. St George stood up against the heathen Diocletion who banned the celebration of Christianity on pain of death. George was tortured for his faith and eventually beheaded. We celebrate his sacrifice for upholding the Christian faith of our country.

The pity is that like Easter, Christmas and Whitsuntide - it’s an excuse for a holiday but only a few celebrate the reason for the season. We need to reclaim our Christian country for God the Kingdom and our children by standing up for Jesus

Jesus was so concerned about His disciples, His friends that He wanted them to be in no doubt about His resurrection - so many witnesses to the awesome truth that it can’t be ignored.

One man - a New York journalist set out to write a book proving that God didn’t exist and after interviewing many Christians came to the conclusion that there is so much more evidence for His existence that it cannot be ignored and so he himself was converted and is today one of Americas well respected evangelists

You and I were probably influenced by our parents or perhaps a friend and have been coming to church since childhood - not so today. The sad thing is that children today don’t hear about Jesus at home and neither do they from School.

That’s why Jesus commissioned His followers to go and make disciples. It was the same in Old testament times. Remember the vision that Isaiah had of the Lord Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6;8

Just as Mary told Peter and John, so Peter and John told the other disciples and they in turn confirmed to Cephas that Jesus was alive - so too we are called to share the good news with others. We may not have seen with our eyes but we believe by faith As Jesus said ‘Blessed are they who have not seen yet believe’

Sunday 27 April 2014 Shaken and stirred Luke 24;13-35

What a difference that walk made in the life of those two followers of Jesus. Walking on the road to Emmaus, Jesus drew along side them. Luke tells us that they were downcast, all the sparkle had gone out of their walk. They were walking away from Jerusalem.

They were expecting a champion to liberate them - they were not able to understand that for God to do that, there was a price to pay, a ransom that only the Father heart of God was able to pay.Gods truth had not yet penetrated their hearts to enable them to see the whole prophetic truth that God had revealed to them Jesus would have to die for their sins. ‘Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?"And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

They were downcast - their spiritual lives had been shattered over the last few days. One minute, everything was honkey - dorey. The Jesus they had grown to know and love had been a popular man, They‘d seen Him do awesome things, vast crowds following Him - people were coming on board and then the bomb shell - He’s betrayed by one of His own men, Judas, denied by his top man Peter, Then taken away and killed - whats gone wrong?

Thankfully all that changed as they started talking to the stranger who had drawn up along side them and slowly began to reveal the truth. As they walked and talked in His presence, their hearts began to warm to Him but they still didn’t realise who He was. It was only after persuading Him to stay with them and whilst sharing a meal - that Jesus broke bread and their eyes were opened and they recognised Him

That’s all it needed for the sparkle to come back into their lives, the fizz, the WOW factor - all that was needed was for them to spend that short time in the presence of Jesus, just walking and talking with Him as He confirmed to them that His death wasn’t defeat but victory - that’s all they needed to hear to recharge their batteries and set them on fire again. How’s your walk with Jesus?

They would look back on the last three years that they had spent with Jesus, and see the way in which - yes - He had been with them, even over the last few weeks when everything seemed to go wrong - they would begin to realise that what happened was for the good of the Kingdom. For them it had been a particularly difficult and unexpected experience - but looking back, they would begin to see that through it all God was doing an even greater thing than they could ever know or imagine - He was setting the stage for the next move. Is that your experience?

They ran back to Jerusalem to their fellowship and shared the truth that Jesus was alive and together, they all experienced the wonder of His presence as Jesus stood among them. He opened their minds to the truth and as they burned with a passion to see the Kingdom of God in their midst He told them that they were His witnesses - stay together until you are clothed with the power from on high. Jesus needed witnesses to the truth - people whose desire was to spend time with Him, people He could fire up within - by the power of the Holy Spirit - people who would continue the work that He had begun - that of making disciples by seeking the lost and winning them back to the fathers heart with the love of Jesus. Isn’t that what we should be doing?

Over the last few weeks they had been shaken to the Core. Their lives had been on a terrifying roller coaster ride. Had the disciples realised the whole truth of the prophesies regarding Jesus they would not have been fearful, downcast, or felt the need to run away.

Those are the actions of a stressed up person. They had to be shown that Gods Kingdom is an Unshakeable Kingdom - It’s the same today, Gods people need to realise that as they stand firm on the Rock of Jesus, they will never be shaken by situations, circumstances or even feelings. Rock or sand - what’s your position right now?

In Hebrews we read the words ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the Heavens so that what cannot be shaken may remain’ Hebrews 12; 26-27 Implying that which is built on shaky ground will be shaken to the core.

Remember the prayer of the church when Peter was released from prison - they prayed and the building where they were was shaken. The word of God still remains that He will shake the unstable, the ungrounded faith, the world in which we live - every throne, power, principality and authority wether human or angelic that is not ordained by God will fall.

Today I believe Gods church needs a good shaking to stir it up and get it mobile again. When God does, everything built on The Lord Jesus Christ will stand firm whilst everything else will topple. Every religious activity, church activity or programme not rooted in Christ’s love and sustained by the Spirit will go. The worlds systems that are motivated by greed, resourced by money and controlled by devils will topple - and that includes many so called Christian Groups. I believe that the shaking will take place both outside and within the church. both secular and religious. It’s happening today!

The true Church of Jesus, those who believe and stand firmly on Gods word as the infallable word of God, will stand firm and‘ the gates of Hell shall not prevail upon it’.

To be a part of His kingdom, we need to get back in step with God, to begin to walk with Jesus, talk with Jesus, yearn to Know Him. We need to build our lives on Him so that we can stand firm whatever happens in our lives.

Like those two disciples who were on a high one day and the next were on the run, Elijah found himself in that same state. One day he’s on a high, defeating the worshippers of baal with a great show of Gods power, the next he’s on the run filled with doubts and fears through the threats of Jezebel. He’s suicidal, he’s depressed and hides in a cave.

‘What are you doing here’ asked God - ‘go out and stand on the mountain for the Lord is about to pass by’. Elijah stays put, his fears get the better of him. The wind blows, the earth shakes and the fire burns - signs of the anger of God on a guilty world - but then the gentle whisper of God comes and Elijah goes to the mouth of the cave - still he cries out to God ‘God, don’t you care I’m alone. Like Peter walking on the water - one minute he’d experiencing the mighty power of God - the next he’s sinking fast - aand God is throwing him a lifeline.

How often do we as Gods people feel shaken to the core - our little worlds collapse. Victories seem dwarfed by defeat. Plans crushed by failure. Could it be that God is teaching us to take our eyes of the known, the seen, the safe, the comfortable, and trust in Him. ‘Get out of your cave Elijah, stop hiding - go and stand on the mountain and I will pass by. Like Peter, If you and I want to walk on water we have to get out of the boat.

I believe that today God is shaking His church in order to build His Kingdom - a Kingdom that cannot be shaken by tempering His people. Strength through adversity -

Just as Jesus was there all the time, but the disciples didn’t recognise Him God has promised to be with His people - ‘When you go through the storms of life, the fire that threatens to consume you, fear not , for I am with you’ God said ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’

Psalms 46: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Gods people, this fellowship, need to rally together, seek to know the presence of Jesus who walks beside us seek to know His will be empowered and enabled to move forward to build the Kingdom - his Kingdom

WOW in a few weeks time we will see a dramatic change in the lives of the disciples as God, true to His word, sends the Holy Spirit to equip and empower the church - you and I to continue the work that Jesus began in reconciling the world back to the heart of the Father.

God’s people need to realise that we are called to be witnesses, empowered by God to do even greater things to build and herald in the kingdom of God

James Bond used the expression ‘Shaken but not stirred’ when referring to cocktail spirits. When God the Holy Spirit shakes the Church it will certainly be stirred to action. Shaken and stirred to action, that’s what’s needed to awaken the Church, the living body of Christ to Be the Church that He will build - a Church, a fellowship of believers who stand on the Rock that can never be shaken.

I'll go in the strength of the Lord in paths he has marked for my feet I'll follow the light of his word Nor shrink from the dangers I meet His presence my steps shall attend His fullness my wants shall supply On him, till my journey shall end My unwavering faith shall rely

Sunday 20 April 2014 John 20; 1 - 19

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.

If this is your first meeting this Easter, you’ve missed out on so much. One of the reason that the first Easter morning was so glorious to the friends of Jesus was because they had shared the tragic events of the crucifixion and the cross together, this day was a blessed release - a ‘champagne popping victory’ that would be mind blowing to them.

This last week has been very special to me and I think many of us. On Wednesday we looked at the Passover meal tht Jesus shared with His disciples and at the end of the meeting we shared the Lord’s supper which was a very precious, special time

On Good Friday morning 24 of us gathered around the cross in the worship hall. We thought of how Jesus would have looked at the main characters in the Easter story - especially Peter who denied even knowing Jesus. After lunch together we went to the cross at Otley and after singing ‘When I survey the wondrous cross’ we prayed that God would speak to each person that came to the cross that day.

As we looked out over Otley I was reminded of a story I shared a couple of years ago. It was the Battle of Waterloo and the people of London were waiting anxiously for news of the outcome of the fierce fighting. No telephones then, only semaphore signals. From the top of Winchester Cathedral the people saw and read the message as it was relayed. They strained to see as blankets of fog came over the country.‘ Wellington defeated’ they read but then the fog veiled the signal.

The people of London were in deep despair at the thought of their great general being defeated. All seemed lost. Then the blanket of fog lifted and once again the message was relayed. Again they read ‘Wellington defeated’ - but this time there was more to the message. This time it read ‘Wellington defeated the enemy’ Their gloom changed to Glory, despair to delight, tragedy had become triumph.

I thought about the crowds that had gathered around the cross to see Jesus die.

As they looked, all they would see was Christ defeated at Calvary, had they to send a message to the world then it would have been ‘Jesus Christ defeated’ little were they to know that as the clouds lifted and night gave way to the glorious morning, the glorious message would read ‘Jesus Christ defeated sin and death’.

As the news spread from those early visitors to the tomb, it would be relayed like wildfire. ‘He is risen’ was the victorious cry ‘Jesus Christ has defeated sin and death’. Jesus the ‘victim’ became Jesus the ‘victor’

The gospel writers go to great lengths to help us to lift the fog and 'see' the truth for ourselves. Some of them, were 'Eyewitnesses' to the fact that Jesus lived, died and rose again. they 'saw and believed' in order that we might 'Believe and see' for ourselves.

Imagine the shock of the women who on visiting the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus saw that the stone had been rolled away and when they entered they couldn’t find the body. ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead’.

It reminded me of Isaiah’s vision when he says ‘In the year that King Uzziah died, 'I saw the Lord’. In other words whilst others were following the funeral procession, I followed the living, Risen Glorious Lord

This morning we celebrate the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Last week we shared How Jesus called His friends together and dropped the bombshell that they were going to Jerusalem and that all the things that the prophets had said about Him would come true. They would spit on Him, flog Him Kill Him - ‘Surely not - after the three years of relative popularity the people were getting to know Jesus - surely He’s got it wrong this time!’

We then read of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem with the adulation of the Crowds ringing in their ears ‘Blessed is He who come in the name of the Lord’ Hosanna’ He seemed to be gaining popularity amongst the ordinary folk - they clamoured to see Him - surely He’s got it all wrong -

Then when they heard what his enemies were saying about Him when they said ‘Look how the whole world has gone after Him’ that would surely give them more confidence.‘He’s definately got it all wrong’

Then it all started to go wrong - the Last Supper, the terrors of the garden of Gethsemane - the shock of His arrest, His betrayed into the hands of the enemy by one of His own disciples. Taken away, then the crowds crying for His blood as they shouted ‘Crucify Him’ - what’s happenning! ‘He WAS right all along’

Peter even denied that He knew Jesus. The feelings of despair, of guilt of fear would be overwhelming.

On Friday we shared how THEY would feel looking at Jesus on the cross.

We also thought how JESUS would feel about them as He looked at them from the cross. If only He could reach out and love them - tell them it’s OK that in a few days their despair and grief would be changed to joy unspeakable.

And that’s what happened as Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

Mary was devoted to her Lord, He had set her free from the demons that possessed her. She found healing, love and acceptance in Jesus. Unlike most of the other friends and followers of Jesus, Mary was one of the few who stayed with Him at the cross, until the end. Until it would seem that all hope was gone.

It was early in the morning, while it is still dark, when she came to the place where Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had laid the body of her Lord. Imagine the shock that Mary must have felt when she found that not only had the stone been moved, but the tomb was empty. The first thing that she did was to run and tell His closest friends, John and Peter. 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb' she cried, ' and I don't know where they have laid Him'.

Where Mary's reaction at the empty tomb was probably shock, John and Peter’s would be disbelief. They still hadn't realised what Jesus had tried to tell them at that last supper they had shared with Him. " I will be with only a little longer. Then you will look for me. I am going away, but I will come back to you. I am telling you this now, before it happens, so that when it does. you will believe".

Peter had been shocked when Jesus told him that in the next few day's, he would deny even being with Jesus, that Peter would desert his Lord. He would find it very hard to believe that Jesus could think that he would be capable of such a thing. Yet Jesus was right, Peter had let his friend down, and I would imagine he felt very ashamed of himself.

Peter and John ran with much haste to the tomb, probably with feelings of disbelief, who would do such a thing as remove the body, hadn't the authorities done enough to humiliate Jesus ?

I wonder if the words of Jesus at that last supper had started to ring some bells. I can well imagine the thoughts that Peter would have had, knowing that not only had he denied even knowing Jesus, but he had deserted Him at the first sign of danger, and watched Him die on the cross alone.

Last week on Palm Sunday I asked the question ‘ have you ever had to get ready to go somewhere that you didn’t want to? We were thinking about how Jesus would be feeling that day - knowing that to go to Jerusalem meant certain death.

I believe that whilst John would want to get to the tomb as quickly as he could - Peters legs would be running faster than his head - he probably wasn’t as keen to get there as John - Peter would probably still have the image of Jesus looking at him when he denied knowing or being with Jesus,

No wonder we are told that John arrived first.

When John got to the tomb, he would see the bandages that had been wrapped around Jesus's body all neatly folded, not the work of someone trying to get away in a hurry. John saw the evidence, and scripture tells us 'he believed'

Mary just couldn't wait to go and tend to the needs of the Lord she loved. She felt indebted to Him, for what He had done for her, in giving her new life. Life that now had real purpose, a life of hope where before there was only despair. Peter on the other hand would want to believe, but probably held back by his shame.

Today, like Mary, John and Peter those two thousand years ago, many Christians will give a sigh of relief that the pain and trauma of Good Friday is over - but unlike Mary, John or Peter, they hadn’t had to share the pain of Good Friday.

I don’t believe that anyone could fully appreciate the awesomeness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead if they hadn’t first, experienced the cross.

Paul writing to the fellowship of believers at Phillippi told them that the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is more fully appreciated by those who are willing to experience the cross themselves. Not the searing nails of iron or the cruel cross of wood but the cross of sacrifice that often comes when you seriously devote your life, time and energy to the service of God. The cost of true love - devotion to the father and compassionate unselfish love to those around us.

‘I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead Philippians 3;10-11

On Good Friday I asked what your feelings were as we gathered around the cross of |Jesus. We thought about Mary His mother, John His beloved disciple, Peter who denied even being with Jesus. What are your feelings this morning as we come together to worship the risen Lord. Perhaps you share some of the feelings that Mary Magdalene had, of gratitude for what the Lord has and is doing in your life. A time when you want to rejoice in the victory over sin that Jesus showed was possible.

Perhaps, like Peter, you feel that you have let Him down, denied Him in some way. Maybe you have come sharing the same mixed feelings that Peter must have had, that if Jesus really did rise from the dead, exactly as He said He would do, then all the other claims He made must be true also. If they are, then perhaps I should be responding differently to the way I do?

Perhaps you've held back from making any kind of commitment to Him.

The way that we approach the empty tomb this morning, could change our lives.

Over the last week we have considered the claims of Jesus, the sacrificial lamb who paid the ultimate price on the cross, by freely giving His life as an atonement for the sins of the world. How God, so sick of the way in which man was rejecting Him, and His way of life, sent Jesus to show us by His example, that our Father wants His creation to live a life of love, and not a life of selfishness. The message of Easter, is one of new life, new birth into a living hope, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus said ' I have come that you might have life, life in all it's fullness'.

While Peter and John ran back to their homes, Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she knelt there, she saw two angels, who asked her why she was crying. "because they have taken my Lord away, and I don't know where they have put Him". Then she turned round and saw a man standing by her side. "Woman, why do you weep, who are you looking for?" She thought he was the gardener, and asked him where he had put the body of her Lord. Jesus turned to her and gently said, "Mary" she turned and instantly recognised Him.

In her deepest need, she found that He was there. Jesus came to her when in utter desperation she cried out for Him.

Maybe you feel like crying out to God, "where are you." There are times in our lives when ‘Lord You seem so far away’, when in reality He’s there beside us, sharing our pain, feeling our sorrow. It’s then we need to reach out to Him, and realise His presence.

Just as the way we approach the tomb is important, so too is the way we go from it and what we do with our lives.

Where Peter and John went home, perhaps to let the truth sink in before seeing the other disciples, Mary couldn't wait, and we are told that she went to tell them that she had found, the risen Lord.

I pray that that will be our testimony this morning that we know that Jesus Christ is indeed risen from the dead. That we serve a risen Saviour who is in the world today.

How do we know? Because He lives within my heart!

I remember as a young man how on Easter morning, everybody in Idle seemed to go to Church. There were very few cars then, and as you walked to church on - you met people on the way and shouted across the street ‘He is Risen’ Hallelujah. Today, the few people who do come to church, come in cars - so sadly, the greeting is rarely expressed.

William Sangster was a pastor in London in the middle of the last century. During World War II, when Germany was trying to bomb London into extinction, Pastor Sangster ministered to the citizens who for their safety were hiding in the underground tunnels. Many were injured, all feared for their lives.

In the later days of his life Pastor Sangster suffered from throat cancer. He lost his ability to speak. He lived the last months with his daughter. On the last Resurrection Sunday that Sangster spent on earth his daughter came into the kitchen where her father was eating breakfast. He gave her a napkin on which he had written these words, "How terrible to wake up on Easter and have no voice to shout, 'He is risen!' She fled the room with tears in her eyes, while she read the words on the other side. ‘But what is far worse, is to have a voice and not want to Praise Him."

He’s not in the manger, it’s an empty stable, He’s not on the cross, it’s an empty Cross and He’s not in the tomb - that too is empty - but I know a place where He would love to be - in your heart. The Living Christ promised that if we love Him and are obedient to Him then He and the father would come and live in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit - WOW!

He is risen -He’s alive - He’s conquered death and offers New life to everyone who will believe on Him- New Life that begins the minute we turn our backs on the past and accept Him as our Lord and Saviour. Ressurection life that begins when we are reborn by the power of the Holy Spirit. Life that begins now and continues on into eternity.

Lets go back to the time when Mary having found the empty tomb ran back to tell Peter and John.Listen as David Phelps sings about that time

Luke 18; 31-34 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be turned over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again." The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

I like the way the King James puts it ‘Jesus set His face to go into Jerusalem’ That’s gritted determination - knowing what lies ahead He knows there was no turning back

We sing a song in the Army; If crosses come, if it should cost me dearly To be the servant of my Servant Lord If darkness falls around the path of duty, And men despise the Saviour I've adored

I'll not turn back, whatever it may cost, I'm called to live, to love and save the lost, I'll not turn back, whatever it may cost, I'm called to live, to love and save the lost.

If crosses come, Jesus knew they would if it should cost me dearly Jesus knew it would cost Him His life. He knew what pain He would have to suffer. His response? I'll not turn back, whatever it may cost. And He didn’t

We then read Luke 19 about the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalemon that day there were two main groups the Spectators who waved a palm branch - and the participants. Llst week we looked at Zacchaeus, the curious spectator who climbed the tree to watch Jesus from a distance. Jesus saw him and invited him to come on down and from that moment he was changed from an onlooker to a participant.

Participants are those who are prepared to roll up their sleeves and get on with the job in hand. - those who have counted the cost and are prepared to pay the price whatever - the disciples, Jesus’s faithful band knew that they would have to carry a cross '

I say it every year and I say it again - Its easiest thing in the world to wave a palm branch - Its not so easy to carry your cross. For often whilst you might smile and wave your palm branches with the crowds, you often have to carry your cross alone.

Jesus knew what lay ahead - this was the reason why He came - He probably would have enjoyed the journey up till now - the good times with His friends, the shared experiences - the joy of the miracles and being able to bring comfort and healing to the downcast - but now - He faces the ultimate challenge - the testing of His commitment - the real reason why He came - cross.

Imagine how Jesus felt when He gathered His friends together and in effect said - ‘Well, this is it lads its time to go to Jerusalem - the capital - the most dangerous place - right into the hands of the power mongers - the ones who are plotting against Me and you know what? -everything you’ve ever read from scripture about Me the Messiah will begin to take place’. He would know that whilst today the crowds will be shouting their Hossanna’s - in a few days time the same crowd of people will be shouting ‘Crucify Him’.

Imagine how he disciples would feel Gone will be the acclaim, the popularity, in a few days time He would be as Isaiah centuries before had said, ‘Despised, rejected, a man of sorrows, grief stricken - not a pretty picture. Turned in by His own people who will mock Him, insult Him, spit on Him, flog Him and hang Him on a cross to die. Imagine what feelings of disbelief and terror would be in the minds of His disciples. Even the good news, the unbelievable that on the third day he will rise again, would’nt bring the comfort that they would need. They just didn’t understand - He told them but they just didn’t understand.

It was like that a few weeks earlier when Mary and Martha had called for Jesus because Lazarus had died. They would’nt believe that Lazarus would be raised from the dead as a sign of the new life that is available to those who are willing to die to the old way of life and be born again to the new." The disciples didn’t understand - the meaning was hidden from them, they did not know what he was talking about. Imagine how they would feel now- do we have to go? can’t we just get on with life as it is and wait till the climate changes and we get more people on our side?

The truth was that they had to go - there was no turning back. I guess we’ve all, at some time, had to get ready to go somewhere we really didn't want to go? That first day at a new job, the dentists, perhaps the hospital, or even a funeral. We’ve all shared those feelings together over the last couple of years - this was one of those days for Jesus.

Up till now, His life and ministry although sometimes hard, had been very rewarding, challenging, with evidences of Gods great power. There had been lots of mountain top experiences - the next leg on the journey would be the most difficult. He knew that in a few days time, He would be hounded like a common criminal, betrayed by one of His own disciples Judas, let down by the other disciples who had become His friends, and even the unthinkable, denied by Peter.

But He had to go - Jesus knew that this was a journey of no return, Jesus knew that it was the only way that people like you and I could have our sins forgiven and be assured of the resurection to new life - eternal life - He had to pay the price for our sins on the cross once and for all time - and that meant giving His own life as a sacrificial lamb..

The disciples didn’t understand - but Jesus did. He knew that He was going to His death. He knew that He would be deserted - alone. He knew that there was no going back

This was the final step on a journey that would lead to the cross - this would be a terribly difficult, traumatic time - a time of testing that Jesus the man would dearly love to avoid, but He knew that He had to go through the wilderness of life to gain the victory over sin and before He could experience of the ressurection. As Paul later says, ‘For the Joy that was set before Him He endured the cross’ and all that that meant.

Today, people had gathered in their home towns to celebrate the Passover, the time when Centuries earlier, the Children of Israel had been liberated from slavery and bondage under the Egyptians. Moses came along, told them of Gods plan to set the captives free and set them on course to the promised land. Everything was great - every obstacle that man put in their path was overcome.

They walked through the Red Sea. God fed them from manna in the desert, water from the rock - it was awesome -everything seemed to be going great apart until the grumblers among them, started to moan and groan at every obstacle, and wanted to go back - what they had experienced before, that which they were slaves to was seen as better than starvation in the desert. Even though every time, God came up trumps for them, they soon got disheartened when things didn’t appear to go right for them.

As they journeyed, they came to rest in a place called Marah - the trouble was that the waters of Marah were bitter and they didn’t like it there - once again, those who only wanted the easy life had had enough and were ready to go back into the wilderness.

Their cry was ‘I’ll turn back - Iv’e had enough. of the difficult, the dark times - doors opening and then closing - the mountain tops and then the valleys - I’ve had enough - I’m want to go back. What they didn’t realise was that they were only seven miles away from the lush land of Elim - they had to go through Marah to get to Elim.

Over the last couple of years, many of us have had a rough time - we’ve experienced the highs, we’ve been in the valleys - we’ve tasted the bitter waters of Marah. The bitter times - the difficult times that so often blurr the joys of the victories that we have shared, the obstacles we have overcome. But it won’t always be like that - Love will triumph.

You see, Jesus knew that in a couple of weeks - the ultimate victory was in sight - that He would rise again from the ashes of pain and despair. Elim was in sight and we are told that because He knew that - He was able to endure the difficulties of the present.

History tells us that when the Romans set out to conquer a new country they would land on the shores of the unknown unchartered territory that they wanted to claim and what did they do? They set fire to their boats - the very boats that had brought them to where they were. The boats they knew that if the battle got hot, there would have been a way back. They burned their boats now there was only one way and that was forward.There was no way back if their mission FAILED - they HAD to win.

Bill Wilson, the American who saw the plight of the young people in down town Brooklyn and built an empire of volunteers willing to give up a few years of their lives to minister to them - he asked some of his young workers who were training for a place in his youth team ‘ if the going gets tough and things didn’t work out - what will you do?’ most of them gave the same answer ‘there’s always be a job waiting back home’ They had kept their options open.

Bill Wilson tears filled his eyes for he knew that unless they changed their way of thinking and put the security of the past behind them and were willing to reach out into the unknown, putting everything they had into the work that God had called them to do - they would only give second best and be more likely to quit at the first hurdle.

After all, they still had the security of the known the familiar. With that in mind, they would never be prepared to take the risks that they would have done knowing that they had nothing to loose., They hadn’t yet burned their boats.

And so Jesus set His face towards Jerusalem, knowing what was before Him.There was no going back - as He rode into the city with the Hosannas ringing in His ears - every Hosanna was like a flame to the boat. Jesus told His disciples They will mock Me, insult Me, spit on Me, flog Me and kill Me. but Hey! On the third day I will rise again."

The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about. But we do - we have the full story - Scripture reveals that thats exactly what happened and His followers, although they too went through it - their little fellowship enjoyed new life and were the stronger for it - as filled with the spirit they became a powerful force to be reckoned with in their land.

Sometimes in our own spiritual journey we have to through the wilderness and if we have the strength and willpower to hang on in there - one day we shall walk through the door that brings us into the sunlight again. Perhaps God is saying to you this morning - trust Me - hang in there - you aint seen nothing yet.

Once you give your life to Jesus - there should be no turning back - there is so much work to do yet - we are called to continue His work in loving the lost - bring them back into the fold and family of God -whatever the cost.

Sunday 6 April 2014

Come on down (Onlooker to participant ) Luke 19:1-10

I wonder how many of you remember the Saturday night programme that was first shown in 1984 where the host looked at the audience and shouted ‘Come on down’ ? Of course it was the price is right with Leslie Crowther, later Bruce Forsyth and Joe Pasquale.

On Saturday night TV the same cry goes out to an unsuspecting audience - can you guess who shouted it this time? It’s Ant and Dec’s Saturday Take Away. On Sunday night the same invitation is given - this time it’s a female who invites them - it used to be Cilla Black now it’s Holly Willoughby ‘Surprise Surprise’

On Mothers Day she invited a lovely old grandma to join her on the couch. Her teenage grandson, who obviously loved his grandma deeply, had written up to the programme with her story. It was most moving - she had had a very difficult childhood and found that at a young age she was pregnant - she was put into a Salvation Army home for unmarried mothers. She gave birth to twins - two lovely boys. It was obvious that she wasn’t getting any family support and reluctantly she gave them up for adoption. That was over 50 years ago

After telling the story, Willoughby told her that they had traced the twins and they were there to meet her. They were now in their 60’s and were keen to meet their real mother. It was an emotional moment. Their lives would never be the same again.

That’s what I love about this story of Zacchaeus, - all Jesus had to say was ‘Come on down’ and from that moment on, his life would never be the same. Here he was, a little man of great power - a little man who many people would be afraid of.

Little though Zacchaeus was, we are told that he was a man of great influence. He had a job that would give him a feeling of great power, he was a tax collector. The only trouble was that tax collectors were not very popular people in those days. The reason being that many of them were corrupt and often overcharged people on their assessment of the goods, and pocketed the extra, that’s how they became rich, and despised.

He had heard so much about Jesus and he wanted to see him for himself. his life would never be the same -Here was this little man who desperately wanted to see Jesus - and WOW! What a difference Jesus is going to make of his life.

This is just one more example of the effect Jesus has on the lives of those who come face to face with Him. Their lives change. Paul in 2 Corinthians says this, ‘when a person becomes a Christian, he is not the same any more, a new life has begun‘ LB. His life was changed by the influence of Jesus.

Funny how so often we resist change, we are quite happy with the way things are. When night time comes, we don’t want to go to bed, and yet when morning comes, we don’t want to get up! Silly isn't it?

When Beryl and I used to go on holiday, we found it difficult to get to sleep in the beds, they’re either too soft or too harder than the ones at home. I remember on one occasion sleeping on the floor at the side of the bed as it was too soft.

The good thing about the change that would occur in the heart and life of Zacchaeus is that it would be a welcome change - like Paul says - 'When a person becomes a Christian he is not the same any more, a new life has begun' - and the Apostle Paul knew what he was talking about. From Saul the persecutor of the church to Paul the persecuted Church planter and evangelist.

Zacchaeus had probably heard so much about Jesus that he wanted to see and hear him for himself, so when he heard that Jesus was travelling through Jericho, he made sure that he wasn't going to miss Him. Being too little, Zacchaeus had to climb a tree to see above the heads of the crowds

Being in such a prominent position, Jesus could see him. Imagine his surprise when Jesus called to him using his name, "Zacchaeus, quick, come on down, for I am going to be a guest at your house today!" He did just that, hegot down and with great Joy, he took Jesus home. Come on down - I’ve heard that somewhere before.

There are many interesting parts to that episode in the ministry of Jesus, that can be paralleled to our meeting here today. Firstly, Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus and so he made the effort to be where Jesus was. I hope that’s why we’ve come here this morning, why we make the effort to come together like this week after week.

Zacchaeus had no other reason to be there. Unlike this fellowship, where we love to be together, and it shows, Zacchaeus probably didn't like the company, and they certainly didn't like him. He was only there because he wanted to meet Jesus. Is that your expectation, your hope this morning ? Zacchaeus certainly got more than he bargained for! He only expected to SEE Jesus but today was going to exceed his expectations.

This was his day, the time appointed on God's calendar for him to come face to face with Jesus. This was a perfect example of a perfect conversion. Here was a sinner, a notorious sinner, seeking Jesus. Jesus called him by name, he responded, he made his confession, and from that moment on his life was to change.

Through that one encounter with Jesus, Zacchaeus life was changed, a complete turn around, an unbelievable transformation. He made recompense for his past by giving half his possessions to the poor and offers to pay back anyone that he has cheated fourfold. Jesus replied ‘Today salvation has come to this house for the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

Remember the woman at the well. She only came to draw water, and instead she met Jesus and couldn’t wait to get back to tell everyone she knew. It didn’t matter who met with Jesus - their lives would never be the same

The disciples themselves, they’d set off one morning to go to work as fisherman, and that day they met Jesus who turned their world upside down and changed their lives forever. One day they are fishermen, the next they are called ‘Fishers of men’. They ceased from catching fish to netting men and women for Christ.

Peter was one of them and WOW what a change in his life. One minute he’s hiding in the bottom of a boat on a tempestuously rough sea, the next minute, on the call of Jesus to ’come out of the boat’, he’s walking on that rough sea his eyes firmly fixed on Jesus. All through God's word we read of people whose lives were changed. David the shepherd boy became King David. Samuel, Saul the persecutor to Paul the persecuted.

As I prepared this last night, I thought of all the people who would be here this morning, who's lives have been changed by meeting Jesus. Not notorious sinners like Zacchaeus but we ordinary folk whom Jesus called to forsake our old way of life, and take on a completely new lifestyle. New Abundant life.

Is that how you feel this morning - if not ask yourself - are you willing to let Jesus change you to become the person He intended you to be all along.

Next week we will continue to Journey with Jesus as He prepares to enter Jerusalem on the last leg of His journey toward the fulfilment of His earthly ministry. We will see how the lives of the disciples will change again when their beloved Jesus is taken away to die on the cross. They will be bewildered - feeling alone - but then Jesus will come down and make His home within their hearts and lives and by the power of the Holy Spirit continue His ministry through them.

Jesus is in the business of Changing lives for the better. He changed my life, gave it purpose and meaning when I gave my life to Him. Without Him I wouldn’t be able to cope - without that certain hope in my heart of eternity with Him and the ones I love - life would be meaningless.

I have hundreds of books on my bookshelf at home all of which tell the remarkable stories of the countless lives that changed when ordinary folk like you and me and some notorious folk like Zacchaeus answered the call of Jesus to ‘Come on down’.

People like the gangland leader Nicky Cruz who changed his gun for a bible and became an evangelist.Jackie Pullinger the young music student who, like Isaiah answered the call of God with ‘here am I Lord, send me’ and headed off to the walled city of Kowloon to become the one through whom God transformed hundreds of drug addicts and dealers and brought them out of their bondage into freedom.

The limbless Nick Vujicic who, because he thought he was a burden to his parents and a no hoper as far as life was concerned tried to end it all when he was just 11 by attempting to drown himself in the bath. He met with Jesus and is now an evangelist who so far has brought over 250 000 young people to Christ. That’s one changed life through whom God has changed a quarter of a million lives.

Billy Graham the door to door shoe salesman who became one of the best known evangelists of all time. Lives that Jesus has changed for the better.

Maybe Jesus is calling you this morning to ‘Come on down’ - He wants to go home with you, like He did Zacchaeus and change your life. How about it?

We’re going to close with that lovely song of committal, Lord I come to You

Lord I come to You Let my heart be changed, renewedFlowing from the Grace that I’ve found in YouAnd Lord, I’ve come to know, the weaknesses I see in meWill all be stripped away, by the power of Your love

Hold me close, let Your love surround meBring me near, draw me to Your sideAnd as I wait, I’ll rise up like the eagleAnd I will soar with You, Your spirit leads me on. In the power of Your love

Sunday 2 February 2014 Luke 3; 21-22

Last time we met we read about Mary and Joseph took Jesus to be dedicated in the Temple. In some churches today people take their babies to be baptised and others tke their children to be dedicated. We said than that this was the decision of the parents on behalf of the child.

We then read how when Jesus was 30 years old, He was baptised in the river Jordan by John the Baptist - the difference being that this was His choice, His decision.

Last Sunday many of us were privileged to witness Bethany get baptised at Sunbridge Road Mission. She had already been dedicated here as a baby for which I had the privilage of conducting - but that was Tony and Caths choice - last week she made her own decision - she couldn’t wait - she was so exited about it - and Tony had th joy of baptising his daughter.

Choices - we all have them and making the right choice can influence the whole course of our lives.

We read how when Joshua in the Bible had brought his people to the edge of the river Jordan he challenged them with a choice - ‘Choose this day whom you will serve - he then went on to tell them in no uncertain terms what his decision was ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord’.

Choices are important. As Gods people, we all have the choice to repent our sins, accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and commit our lives to Him.

Once we have accepted Him as our Lord and saviour then we are faced with choices of allegiance and commitment when it comes to putting God first in our lives or following our own desires. It’s not easy but necessary if we are going to serve the purpose of God. We all know what God says but so often we try tomake excuses and do what we want to do.

On the first Sunday of this year we were all privileged to share the joy of Frank and Jean as they re-dedicated their lives to God and were commissioned Soldiers of the Idle Salvation Army. They made their choice and decleration to God public and are now committed to living their lives in obedience to His will as revealed by our Lord and Saviour. Jesus Christ.

I concluded with the question - What’s your choice for this coming year?

For those of you who have seen our January newsletter you will know that our theme for February is taken from the words of Jesus in John 8;32 ‘You shallknow the truth and the truth will set you free’

We live in very dangerous times when it comes to knowing what we believe. There are so many conflicting things being said both in the Christian Church and outside that what we had accepted for so long as being the truth is under attack and being clouded out by the ideas of men who are challenging the very core of our beliefs.

That’s one of the reasons that on Wednesday nights we have been looking at beliefs of people like the Jehovahs Witnesses and the Mormons so that we can see the way in which they are being deceived by their beliefs and their governing bodies.

Tony, who himself was with the JW’s for three years, showed us how he had been misled into accepting as truth the beliefs of the Watchtower Association. Last Wednesday he revealed the most unbelievable things that the Mormons accept as truth - God actually fathering you and me, Jesus being married to three wives, how depending on how we men have lived our lives will determine wether one day we will go to live on an already inhabited planet to father more spirit children. It was rather uncertain as to what happens to any unmarried women.

Today the world is full of weird faiths, one of which was started by Ron Hubbard a writer of science fiction who openly admitted that the best way to make a million is to invent a religion which is what he did and today hasthousands of followers including Tom Cruise. - It’s known as Scientology.

On Wednesday this week we will look at the Freemasons and the following week at the most dangerous of all - the Emerging Church who have come from within the recognised church and threaten the very core of our Christian faith with their rejection of the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus, the crucifixion and the resurrection. Unbelievable but so sadly true.

The only way to combat the lies that threaten our faith is for those who profess to be Christian to KNOW Who and WHAT they believe.

The biggest income of new converts to the JW’s comes from the recognised churches, people like you and me who go to church but when challenged by the JW on their doorstep are so easily persuaded to listen more to what they are saying. Why? Because if truth be known, they don’t really know what they are supposed to believe.

This morning we are going to look at what happened to Jesus after He was baptised in the River Jordan and was ready to embark on His lifes mission.

Luke 4; 1-12 Jesus Is Tested in the Wildernes Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ Deut. 8:3

The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendour; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’

I’m sure that the scripture we have just read is there intentionally as a lesson to all of us who are followers of Jesus to make sure that we read His word so that when we are faced with doubts or uncertainties, things that the devil could use to put us off the Christian walk, that wll be able to look to Scripture and be able to combat the lies that he challenges us with.

Here we have Jesus - before He starts on His ministry - combating the wiles of the devil and - knowing scripture, is able to resist the devil and put him in his place.

The devil tries in vain to play down what Jesus knows and believes by challenging His faith - His understanding about the power of His God. That’s what happens when new Christians go back to work or home if they are notbelievers themselves - they challenge the new converts new found faith. That’s why it is vitally important to KNOW what and who we believe in.

Jesus has just been in the wilderness for 40 days scavenging for food - He’s hungry - that’s the most vulnerable spot that the devil can attack - and sohe devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to becomebread.”Here we have the devil not only challenging who Jesus is but the power of God.

I love the way in which Jesus answers Satan - not by any wisdom of self but by the very word of God as taken from scripture as found in Deut. 8:3 Jesus answered, “It iswritten: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’

And the rest of that verse says But on the very word that comes from the mouth of the Lord Again stressing the importance of knowing what we believe - not from man made philosophies but from the very Word of God.

Notice too how John later tells us that ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us full of Grace and truth’.That word is Jesus our living example of how God wants us to live our lives.

The devil then tries another approach; to try tempt Jesus by offering him the world if He will change His allegiance and worship the god of this world satan. The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendour; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

Again Jesus doesn’t return the challenge by offering His own answer but goes straight back to the word of God by quoting Deuteronomy 6;13 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’

The devil is still using the same tactics today to try lure new converts as well as seasoned followers of Christ away from their calling and commitment. I will give you the world all you have to do is put me first in your life - ignore the disciplines that you said you would try to keep like Sunday observance, taking time out to read your bible and pray not just when your out of your depth in problems of life and health, but in the good times too. ‘Worship me, tempts the devil and I will give you the desires of your heart. Sadly many Christians have sold out to the devil.

And then for Satans final attempt to win Jesus over to his ways The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it iswritten: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’

When you read Deuteronomy 6; 17- 19 you have it all Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees He has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lords sight so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you as the Lord said’. Jesus answered satan from scripture - if ever there was a reason to get to know what the word of God says in Bible study - it’s here. If Jesus needed to know what the Word of God says inorder to answer the false teachings of satan and his followers - how much more do we need to know His word.

The false cults are growing because those who they meet on the doorstep are not conversant with the word of God. The Church of God is loosing out because many are content to enjoy the privilage of fellowship in their various churches but balk at the commitment it takes to come together around Gods word.

There is a vital need for Gods people to know who and what they believe from His word. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ John 8; 31/32

O how Gods people need to know the truth - the truth that sets men free It’s in knowing WHAT we believe that we begin to know WHO we believe. In knowing the truth we begin to know Christ

Paul wrote to the Philippian Church; I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3; 10,11

As our last hymn says ‘Only as we truly know Him can we ever hope to make Him truly knownI pray that that might be our desire this morning’ It has never been more vital that the Christians know their Lord through His word and in prayer.

I pray that it will be our desire to make sure both WHAT we believe and in WHO we believe

Sunday 19 January 2014

Over the Christmas period we have shared the marvellous story of how God expressed His love for His fallen creation - God so loved the world - you and me - that He gave us His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3;16

He came to earth as a man to show us what He was really like and how He expects us to conduct ourselves through life.

Following on from that, we have just read from Luke 2; 21 how, following His birth, eight days later Joseph and Mary took Him to the Temple in obedience to the Jewish law and since that time apart from one occasion when aged twelve He went missing in the Temple and they found Him talking to the learned men there we know nothing about His childhood.

The next we hear about Jesus is 18 years later aged about thirty that we read from Luke 3 21 how was baptised by John in the River Jordan in preperation for the ministry - the purpose of His coming - to show the full extent of Gods love in taking our sins upon Himself and paying for our sin with His life so that whosever believeth in Him might be forgiven and filled with the hope and promise of eternal life.

Notice the way in which it was His parents who took Him to the Temple as a baby to fulfil the Jewish law but it was His own decision to present Himself to John for His baptism. He didn’t need to do this because He was sinless - He did it as an example for us to follow.

In the church of England the parents take the child to be Christened - I was baptised in as a baby at St Johns on Cavendish. It wasn’t my decision but my mum and dads. It wasn’t until I was old enough to make my own decisions that I gave my heart to Jesus and was enrolled into His family under the Salvation Army flag that represented the Trinity. The Blue represents the purity of God the Father, the Red is the blood of Jesus shed forour sins and the Yellow - the fire of the Holy Spirit. In the church, personal decision to live in obedience to Jesus is called Confirmation.

In the Army it is the parents who decide to bring their babies and children for dedication but it is left to the child as they grow up to make their own decision to ask Jesus into their lives and help them live in obedience to His will. Many other churches celebrate dedication of babies and Baptism of those who by their own choice want to display to the world that they have given their lives to Jesus and wish to live in obedience to Him.

When Joshua was born it was his mum and dads decision to have him dedicated. But last year it was our privilage to share with Joshua as he made a public declaration of his love and alliegance to Christ by being baptised. Next week will share with Bethany as she does the same.

I love the way in which Gods word makes it so clear that whilst we can be brought by our parents to be blessed as babies, it has to be our own decision to declare our commitment to live in obedience to Christ by repenting our past wether that be by water baptism or kneeling at the Mercy seat and being enrolled under the colours of the Army flag. No one else can make that decision for us, no one else can make promises on our behalf - it has to be our own decision.

Jesus didn’t need to do that, he did it as an example to us to show us the path that we should take - the path that leads to fulfilment and purpose in this life and the joy of knowing with real certainty that we will spend eternity withHim and those who also accept Him as their Lord and Saviour.

All this brought one word to my mind last night - Choices - Choices I can think of no better decision for the coming year than to acknowledge Jesus Christ as my Saviour and live in obedience to Him.

Nick Vucicic was born without limbs - his parents were devastated but they chose to bring him up as normal as possible and make every effort to help him grow to accept himself and enjoy life.

When he was 12, he decided that he was too big a burden on his parents and chose to end his own life by drowning in the bath. He turned over and put his head under the water - but then he thought of his parents and how they would feel when they found him. They would feel they had let him down and blame themselves for what he had done. He loved them too much - he knew that they had done all they could to give him a quality of life - he just couldn’t let them down and so he didn’t go ahead with it. He gave his life to Jesus - whatever value that life had - he gave it to the Lord.

WOW! Today he is a much loved and wanted speaker and motivator at youth meetings and has already led over 250000 people to make Jesus Christ their Lord and Saviour. In one of his latest books he says this - 'people say I am disabled but I know that I have been enabled to do more with my life'.Today, against all the odds, he has a beautiful wife and last year they had a beautiful baby boy. He knows that he made the right choice in life.

I think of people like David Ring who has Cerebral Palsy - he could have chosen to accept his disability yet chose to live his life for Jesus and today he also is an evangelist leading people to make their own life changingdecisions for Christ.

Jackie Pullinger a music student who had no interest in Spiritual things and yet found Christ in a college bible group and gave her life to Him. She got on a boat to the far east and asked God to tell her where to get off - He did and she found herself in the walled city of Kowloon - a city of high rise flats - so close to one another that all they had between thenm were open sewers and rat infested corridors. It was a place of no hope with drug pushers and brothels on every corner.

Here she was a young woman just out of College - what could she do in this terrible ghetto. She started prayer and bible meetings - she prayed young men off drugs without any side effects, she helped the women get off the streets and soon she had a thriving fellowship that was attracting others including the drug barrons themselves. She left college with lots of choices and decided to give God a chance in her life. Today she is well sought after at places like Spring harvest - we saw her at Roots.

There are so many people who have made life changing choices that have influenced the world. Eric Liddel the Olympic runner who refused to run on Sunday. He chose to obey the laws of God that we read about last week. He later became a missionery in China. He gained popularity when the film ‘Chariots of Fire’ was made.

Choices - are important -we make lots of choices in our lives, what to eat, what to wear, what we are going to do when we leave school, who we marry, where live - lots of Choices - but one of the most important life changing choices we are faced with is who is going to have the biggest influence on our lives - God or the world.

That decision was the one that Joshua challenged the Israelites with when they came to the Jordan River - ‘choose this day whom you will serve - as for me and my house we will serve the Lord’. That’s a choice that only we have to make that will affect our present lives and our future.

You’d think that that would be an easy choice for the Israelites who up until now had spent their lives as slaves to the Egyptians. Now, by the grace of God they had been set free and were on their way to the promised land. On their journey they had experienced the might of Almighty God who had opened a way through the Red Sea, protected, fed and watered them. From here on, it’s your choice said Joshua.

Choices - there can be no more important choice to make in our lives - who we are going to accept as Lord and Master of our lives and live in obedience to Him.

I’ve been in the SA most of my life - my mum brought me when I was 7. I decided to give Jesus my life when I was about 10 years old and joined the junior band. I progressed through the ranks from Singing Company leader to Sunday School teacher to bandmaster - I thought everything was fine until God showed me different.

When I was in my late 20’s God made Himself known to me and in a spectacular way and made me aware that I didn’t know Him like I thought I did. I knelt and asked Him to forgive me and show me what He wanted me to do with my life - little did I know that He would place me here at the front.

Choices are important. Like we said last week we are faced with difficult choices of allegiance and commitment when it comes to putting God first in our lives or following our own desires. It’s not easy but necessary if we are going to serve the purpose of God.

We all know what God says but so often we try to make excuses and do what we want to do.

What is God saying to you this morning?

What’s your choice for this coming year?

Sunday 12 january 2014 The Christian Walk

Leviticus 26:1-13 God instructing His people to honour Him, by making Him Lord of their lives - putting Him first above all else "`Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not placea carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God.

But we don’t do that! We wouldn’t do that - would we? - If we had to choose between doing what we please, missing a match, watching a critical episode of Corry - and going to Gods house I wonder who would win.

Maybe we don’t mean to, but sadly when it comes to doing something we really enjoy and going to a prayer meeting or Bible class, sadly many times, God doesn’t stand a chance. False idols don’t have to be made of stone - they can so often be selfish desires. ‘I am the Lord your God - put me first in your life ‘ "`Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD. Sabbath whatever you understand it to be - is the day set apart to worship God and put Him first.

Following the TV Documentary about the training College, I have had many discussions this week about Sunday observance. From old school friends to Christians I have been told that I am out of touch with today and stuck in the old testament laws. But I firmly believe that the world was a better place when the Lords day, coming together as families to worship God on Sunday, was observed. But I’ve been reminded time and time again this week that we live in the 21st Century - times have changed - don’t we know it! Church is losing out to the world.

On the basis that we get the first part right, God then presents His people with a bargain that only the most foolish could refuse. The basis of this bargain is rooted in the Ten Commandments. 'Love and worship Me., be obedientto Me, love me and serve one another. 'Don't make idols for yourselves, and don't worship idols, for I AM the Lord your God. 'Put Me first in your life'Delight yourselves in Me, and I will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm37; 4)

Honour Me, and I’ll honour you will make sure that you have food to eat and satisfy, all the food you want' infact, there will be so much food that you won't have finished last years harvest before you have to clear that out to make room for this years crop!'

As Jesus reminds us, ‘get your priorities right, put me first in your life, 'seek Ye first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all the things that you spent half your life worrying about, food, clothes etc. will be provided for you. This is not a prosperity gospel as some churches preach - this is God making sure that your ‘needs’ are supplied.- ‘not our selfish wants’.

And there’s more! If you will obey me, and keep My commands said God, then;1 ‘I will take care of you’. God says; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths

2 ‘I will put My dwelling amongst you’. Jesus said ‘Love me and obey me, I and my Father will come and make our home within you

3 ‘I will walk amongst you and be your God’, and you will be My people.

All He wants is our obedience The commands of God are not just the ten that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai. Even then, the world treats the ten commandments as if it were a schoolboy in an exam who to get a pass, only has to try any three out of ten. Neither is it the hundreds that the Pharissees tried to uphold.

The greatest commandment is that you 'love God and one another' said Jesus. Not just tolerate someone, but really love them, for His sake. 'Do that', said Jesus, 'and the world will know that you are My disciples', and all thecommands, the rules, the disciplines that I said you would stick to, and haven't, will become automatic in your life.

Look at Gods promise - God says 'If you obey me and keep My commandments, I will take care of you, and more than that 'I will put my dwelling amongst you and live amongst you. - and there’s more I will be your God, and you will be My people'.

'If you will, I will says God' It’s You and I together.

In 2 Chronicles 7;14 when Solomon had finished the Temple of the Lord, the Lord appeared to him at night and said this ' If My people who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land'.

Love Me and Obey Me - that’s all God demands.

I remember representing the Salvation Army at the Bradford Cathedral a couple of years ago - it was Bible, as I lined up for the walk to the altar to present my Bible to the Bishop, I noticed that behind me was the Jewish Rabbi carrying the Torah, that had been painstakingly hand written by scribes. I was intrigued and after the service asked if I could have a look at the scroll more closely.

The Rabbi and I talked and he asked me a couple of questions that thankfully, and to his surprise, I could answer. The first was - ‘How many times does the Ten Commandments appear in the Bible. ‘Twice’ I said thefirst was when Moses brought them down the hillside and because of the sinful way his people were acting, he smashed them to pieces.

The second question was - how many commandments does the Jew have -’636 I said’ He was impressed - Imagine if we had to observe 636 commandments! We have a problem with ten., and the eleventh commandthat Jesus gave is even harder. We even have a problem with the few promises that we’ve made to read thebible and pray.

Thankfully Jesus gives us the Readers Digest condensed version - when He said that the law could be summed up in just two commands, ‘the greatest commandments are that you love the Lord your God with all your heart mind and soul and your neighbour as yourself’ it’s as simple as that - no hidden agendas - just simply love me, each other and live your lives in obedience to my commands. Thats all God wants - and when I read of the benefits of obedience, I wonder what our problem is.

Once we have been presented with the truth, then the decision as to what our response will be is up to us. Obviously our response should be to say 'yes Lord, I'm sorry,

I have let You down by not fulfilling the promises I made when I first came to know you. I want to fulfil my part of the bargain, and because I know that you are faithful to me, I will be faithful to you. ' Promises Frank and Jeanmade last Sunday

1 I will take care of you.

2 I will put My dwelling amongst you.

3 I will walk amongst you and be your God, and you will be My people.

Wow! what a difference that would make in our lives - what a difference that would make to our church - God walking amongst us. This is God walking with me today - tomorrow - every day. God - Almighty God, Creator, Deliverer, Redeemer, Healer, Provider, Shepherd, Guide, Friend, faithfully walking by my side. God our father who delights to walk with us.

Remember the impact that Jesus had on those two disciples walking to Emmaus as He drew along side them and walked with them. We are told how, as they talked, their hearts warmed to this man. He fanned the flame that burned in their hearts for Jesus until it burned so deep within them that they realised that it was Jesus who walked with them. All He did was open the scriptures to them and in them revealed the truth.

Isaiah 40; 31 says this - They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Here we have the If you will I will principle again, If you will - Make the Lord your delight, trust Him, wait upon Him and the promise is You will fly like the majestic eagle, run like Roger Bannister, Walk like a true disciple should..

We might want to fly - Ornitholigists say that birds have three methods of flight

The first is Flapping - keeping their wings in constant motion to counteract gravity. Hummingbirds flap their wings up to 70 times per second. Flapping keeps you in the air, but it hard work and you can’t keep it up for long. Flapping is an awkward clumsy business. I know, I spend a lot of time flapping around its gets you from here to there, but its very exhausting.

The second is gliding - here the bird builds up enough speed, then coasts downwards for a while. A lot more graceful than flapping, but unfortunately it doesnt get you very far - gliding is great for a while but it does’nt last.

Then there is the third - soaring. Only a few birds are able to do this - the eagle is one of them - to soar - one has to keep calm, stretch the wings and catch the warm air that go straight up from the earths surface into the heights- and without moving a feather, the eagle can rise to great heights.

Isaiah says that those who wait upon the Lord will somedays, soar like the eagle, others run and not grow weary, but somedays will just walk .Sometimes, we soar like the eagle, others we find it hard enough to run, and somedays we just plod on as we walk - but the great promise is that we don’t walk alone - He walks with us.

I will put my dwelling-place among you, I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people

Whats your walk been like this week? How do you want your walk to be this year?

Many start the New Year with resolutions like - I’m gonna watch my weight this year, I’m gonna get more sleep this year -How about deciding that your gonna walk with God in obedience to Him this year

God has a purpose and a plan for each one of us - some days we will fly like the eagle, some we will run like the deer, most days we will simply walk, a steady plod through life. - all of them in obedience to His commands and will for our lives. God wants walk with us - in this life - and on into eternity.

This letter was written about A. D. 61 from Rome during Paul's first imprisonment there. It was written to the Christians in the Roman province of Asia. These were ordinary people -- tradesmen, craftsmen, a few doctors and lawyers, some politicians -- the general run of people. Many of them were slaves.

What an awesome letter Paul writes to those early day Christians. What an inspiring and challenging letter is for us today.

Ephesians 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight.

Gods intention for His creation - you and I was that we live in Peace and harmony with our Father God to grow to be like our Father - even holy and as such, blameless in His sight.

Gods intention was that we would be and feel part of the Heavenly Family - Loving our Father and living with one another in love. That’s probably why Jesus when asked what the greatest commandments were pointed to just two, to love the Lord your God with all your heart mind and soul and love your neighbour.

What a perfect lovely world that would be if man would only have stuck to that ideal - no more wars, no more power hungry nations, no more poverty and starvation in the third world because people would share what they have with those who havn’t instead of seeing it an opportunity to make money and create a society where there are the haves and the have nots. Holy simply means to live in obedience to the father.

That was Gods intention when He created man - God wanted Him to inherit the family likeness. God chose him to be holy and therefore blameless Sadly man had other plans and chose to be disobedient and fall out of relationship with the father and go His own way. That’s the inspiration for the story Jesus told about the prodigal son. Just like that, God wants His creation back, He wants the prodigals to return.

Because of the fall of man, man was no longer blameless and because of his disobedience and rebellion would have had to face the consequences of his own sinful ways - but thankfully God our father still loves His creation and as the next verse tells us in love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ in accordance with His pleasure and will - to the praise of His glorious Grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. Or as John 3;16 tells, God so loved the world ( His creation) that He gave His only son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life’

We were created by God to be sons of the father and therefore holy and blameless

But because of mans disobedience he was cast out of that perfect envoironment that God had created for him. Even then, because God loved his creation so much, He made an escape route possible, a way back made possible by sending Jesus to take our sins to the cross. He took upon Himself the punishment for mans sins.

It was the only way that man would understand as that was the practice of the Jews who in order to seek forgiveness for their sins went to the Temple priests to offer a living sacrifice, a dove or a lamb in their place. So God sent His son Jesus to become the once and for all sacrificial lamb to claim forgiveness for our sins.

If man was truly sorry for his sins and accepted Jesus Christ as His Lord and Saviour then he was adopted back into the family of God.

5-7 In love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will – to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One he loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us.

Adopted as sons through the sacrifice of Jesus which gave the Father God much pleasure and here we have the word Grace that put it all into perspective.

GRACE - Gods Riches at Christ’s Expense

‘Amazing Grace’ one of the greatest hymns of all time was written by John Newton. He left school at the tender age of eleven and began to live a life of debauchery and oppressing others as a mariner. He built a large business trading in the lives of men, women and children as slave trader to all the worlds markets.

One day, the grace of God put great fear into the heart of Newton as his ship came face to face with a great storm. He was terrified that the ship, full of slaves would capsize. He began to read a book called ‘An imitation of Christ’ by Thomas a Kempis and that book led him to a genuine conversion and a dramatic change to his life’s course.

It didn’t happen overnight, he continued in the slave trade until God showed him that it was wrong and not consistent with his faith - even though many Christians supported slavery.

In those latter years, he studied for the ministry and encouraged and influenced by John Wesley and George Whitefield, at the age of 39 he became an ordained Anglican minister. He started to write hymns and in 1779 wrote ‘Amazing grace’ . He became a leading figure seeking the abolition of the vile trade in human cargo and in 1807, the year he died, it was abolished.

He had plenty of shadows that could have plagued him from his past as a slave trader - that could have left him feeling condemned - instead he chose to accept Gods full forgiveness. He died aged 82 and in all his years never ceased to be amazed at Gods overwhelming Grace that had transformed him completely.

Newton preached with a loud enthusiasm and shortly before he died said this

‘ My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things; 1 that I am a great sinner and 2 that God is a great Saviour’.

Even with such a horrible past - God never gave up on John Newton - Gods Grace was available even for a vile slave trader. God saw not what he was but what he could become - in His hands

God’s Grace that He lavished on us. Lavished - I like that word - it always reminds me of the way the Ice Cream man used to make the ice cream sandwiches as a young lad. We didn’t have fridges when I was a lad and so a man came round the streets a bike with an ice cream box on the front. If you wanted an Ice cream sandwich he would get a metal box, put a wafer in and depending on how much you were prepared to pay, pull a lever that would deepen the box. He would then scrape Ice cream into it and if he was a really friendly, generous guy, he would lavishly put as much Ice cream as he could into the box, even creating a kind of pinacle onto which he would put the top wafer, press a plunger and out would come a lovely deep Ice cream.

Gods Grace is freely available today for you and me. All we have to do is simply respond to the love of our Father God.

Gods intention all along was that we should live in harmony with Him and one another. ‘Holy and blameless in His sight’ that’s how He sees us,

The word Holy can seem to be such an unreachable goal but all it really means is ‘set apart’ Set apart from the ideals and aims of this world and we have decided we want to be linked with Gods ways.

Blameless not through our own efforts but by the sacrificial love of Jesus.

We live in a very selfish, unloving, self-seeking world where the busyness of our everyday lives can so often get in the way of our relationship with God. God wants His creation back - that’s why He sent Jesus and that’s why He made the path of reconciliation possible.

Even the greats in the Bible realised the extent of Gods love for them. He saw not what they were but what they could be if they returned to Him and His ways.

David writer of many of the Psalms that we love and know - the shepherd boy started off so well - choosing to put aside mans armour and instead put on the spiritual armour of God to slay the giant Goliath. The trouble is that as he grew into manhood, he fell foul of the ten commandments, lust took over, adultery, even murder to name a few - yet God looked not on the outward but at the heart of a man who even though he made lots of mistakes, burned with a passion for God and desired to worship Him with every part of himself - ‘all my inmost being praise Your Holy name’. He repented and God forgave him.

Peter who in his fear and weakness denied even knowing Jesus yet Jesus graciously looked right into the heart of the man He wanted to build His church. Jesus knew the inner man that no one else could. Jesus knew that as long as Peter kept his eye on Jesus - the man had great faith and would walk on water - He also knew that if Peter looked away and realised his own weakness - he would sink. Peter learned to trust His Lord and became a power house as Jesus worked great things though him.

It wasn’t anything that David did, it wasn’t anything that Peter could do, it was simply the grace of God and that grace is available today -

Forget the January sales - you’ll never have a better New year offer. Forgiveness for the past and a bright hope for the future - a brand new start - a clean slate - WOW!

Throughout Advent we have been looking at the subjects of Hope, Light and Peace The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival."

Advent is more than simply marking a 2013 year old event in history. It anticipates the awesome revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God. It’s also more than a ‘Once upon a time’ its also a reminder that just as He came that first time that He is coming again and so as well as celebrating that first coming - we also anticipate His second coming- a stark reminder that just as the first participants of that First Christmas were encouraged to get ready for His coming - we too - today need to make sure that we are ready for His return.

This ‘second advent’ sees the awesome revelation of Jesus in people like you and me who have been passed on the awesome responsibility of ‘making Him known’ and help encourage others to look forward to His return to earth known as ‘the second coming’.

‘Jaws ’ had its ‘Jaws 2’, ‘The Raiders of the lost Ark’ have had three attempts’, There’s been ‘Shrek 1’ and ‘Shrek 2’ and in a couple of weeks time we will all watch the sequel to last years Nativity film - Nativity 2. Moreimportantly I believe that one day soon, there will be ‘the second Coming’ the return of Jesus. That will be like ‘Back to the future two’ Today as we light the candle it could just mark the beginning of yet another Christmas. I hope that this year its more than that - it’s not just a re-run of an old movie like the BBC tend to do every year - where having seen it that many times, you’re contentto love it or leave it.

Maybe like so many others, you’ve watched them so many times that you know whats coming next - even to what they are going to say! I pray that we will all see it in a new light, that the age old truth will dawn afresh andvibrantly new as we ask God to let the light of the truth dawn in our hearts.

Advent is also the first part of the word ‘Adventure’ The first candle is traditionally the candle of Expectation or Hope (or in some traditions, Prophecy). This draws attention to the anticipation of the coming of a Messiah that weaves its way like a golden thread through Old Testament history.

As God’s people were abused by power hungry kings, led astray by self-centered prophets, and lulled into apathy by half-hearted religious leaders, there arose a longing for God to raise up a new king who could showthem how to be God’s people and liberate them from their oppressors. They yearned for a return of God’s dynamic presence in their midst.

And so, God revealed to some of the prophets that indeed He would not leave His people without a true Shepherd. While they expected a new earthly king, their expectations fell far short of God’s revelation of Himself inChrist. They expected a warrior - God sent them a helpless babe who was despised and rejected by those He came to save.

Nothings changed - the world is still run by power hungry tyrants. Even the church is backtracking on it’s responsibility to uphold the gospel and make disciples. The prophesies in the New testament about the state of the world in the end times is being fulfilled as we speak. The church is seen as ’having a form of Godliness but dentying the power - playing the part.

So, we again with expectation, with hope, await God’s new work in history, the second Advent, in which He will again reveal Himself to the world. And we understand in a profound sense that the best, the highest of our expectations will fall far short of what our Lord’s Second Advent will reveal!

There is a need today for Christians who are committed to living and sharing their faith. We are not perfect - but God has chosen to use us. It is truly a humbling experience to read back through the Old Testament and see how frail and imperfect all the "heroes" of the Bible actually were.

The New Testament fares no better with fishermen who wouldn’t be regarded as witnesess in a Jewish Court chosen by Jesus to be His witnesses and disciples. You only have to look at Peter who when the testing time came even denied knowing Jesus

It never ceases to amaze me why God chose to use imperfect people to extol His perfect plan for the salvation of the world. Yet they are perfect examples of the way in which God can transform lives - and that’s one of themessages of the gospel. If God can use them, and reveal Himself through them in such marvellous ways, it means that He could also use me, inadequate, unwise and too often lacking in faith that I am. It also means that I need to be careful not to put limits on what God can do with the most unlikely of people in the most unlikely of circumstances. I think that is part of the wonder of the Advent Season.

Sunday December 1 2013

I have a book at home called The case for Christ. In it man called Lee Strobel tells of his journey from Athiesm to faith. A former editor of the Chicago Tribune, Lee Strobel cross examines a dozen experts on the biblewith such questions as ‘How reliable is the New Testament? ‘Is there evidence outside the Bible for the existence of Jesus Christ? ‘Is there any reason to believe the ressurection was an actual event?’ In his quest for truth - Lee Strobel, the athiest, like Saul of Tarsus, comes face to face with Jesus and becomes Lee Strobel the evangelist.

I also have a film that I hope to show in the forthcoming weeks about a young man who was brought up in a very difficult farming family, he was abused by one of his fathers labourers and so scorned at school that heopenly turned against the Christian faith and like Lee Strobel set off to prove to his school colleagues that Jesus never existed. Again, in his quest he found that God does exists and that the Gospel is for real. He found faith and a personal Savious and grew up to be one of Gods faithful witnesses.

I wonder what kind of man Theophilus was. His name means ‘One who loves God’. As a lover of God he needs to know the truth, the unadulterated facts about this new wave of religious thinking started by Jesus - he wants tobe sure that ‘Jesus is for real’.

I can just imagine him hearing and reading the reports about Jesus - the miracles, the revolutionary things Jesus said, His lifestyle and his teachings and I can almost hear him say ‘This is fantastic - if all I hear is true - then could this possibly be the Messiah, the one the prophets proclaim - the Holy one?

Luke addresses both his writings to Theophilus, the gospel according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles - a kind of ‘Jesus part one’ and its sequel, The Return of Jesus’

Luke is a studious learned man and the only Gentile in an all-Jewish cast of New Testament writer. Luke is a man who believed nothing by chance but who like Lee Strobel gathers together the facts concerning Jesus in order that he can convince his friend Theophilus. And so he writes to his friend ; Luke 1:1-4 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eye-witnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

There then follows Lukes well sought out documented account of the life of Jesus from birth to death and ressurection. This is recent history that happened among them - the reports of the original eyewitneses. This is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth!

Today is the first Sunday in Advent - a time of great expectation and hope. we lit the first candle and read from Isaiah 9 which heralds the coming of the light of the world. on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.

Isaiah, like many of the prophets herald the start of the greatest adventure story of all time. An adventure that captures the spirit if the people and draws them into to share the adventure.Today is the first Sunday in Advent -the beginning of the adventure.

I hope that this year its more than that - it’s not just a re-run of an old movie like the BBC tend to do every year - where having seen it that many times, you’re content to love it or leave it. I pray that we will all see it in anew light, that the age old truth will dawn afresh and vibrantly new as we ask God to let the light of the truth dawn in our hearts.

It's the 1st December today, Christmas is just 25 days away. December is the month that the whole nation seems to go mad, there is a rush to 'be ready', to make sure that we don't miss the last posting days for friendsabroad as well as people nearer home. To make sure we’ve bought all the presents, the decorations are up, the tree's trimmed, the Christmas cake's baked and we've bought the turkey.

Gods preparations didn't start those two thousand years ago when He sent an Angel to tell Mary the startling news that she was going to be the mother of Jesus, It wasn't even when Elizabeth and Zachariah were told that they would be the parents of John the Baptist, who would herald the coming Messiah and prepare people to receive Him. God's plans were revealed to mankind 400 or more years earlier, when through prophets such as Micah and Isaiah He told His people to get ready to receive the Messiah. They were given the privilege of making known 'God's secret wisdom'.

In Micah chapter 5, God even tells His people where Jesus would be born "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."

Incredible isn't it and yet even though God prepared His people with the news of the coming of Jesus, they were still taken by surprise! But then, they were told hundreds of years before! One can hardly blame them. How can Ordinary man begin to understand the extraordinary, unless he has been drawn in to share the secrets of the Almighty' ?

Everyone loves to be in on the secret. I remember when I used to do mystify people with my conjuring tricks, everyone use to say ‘ tell us how you did it’ Come on, tells us how you did it, I won’t tell anybody else’ As if!.

The thing was that God did tell people and although Gods plan was made years ago, He gave little clues, little insights into what He was doing so that when it did happen, the penny would begin to drop, the pieces of the jigsaw fits into place, folk would read the signs and realise the truth.

God is so very organised, a God of order who was so meticulous in His planning, that He left nothing out. He provided Prophets to foretell, He chose who would be the mother and even the place where Jesus would be born.

He arranged for John, to proclaim that 'this is the time', and to prepare His people for the imminent coming of the long awaited Messiah. He even arranged for the Angelic host to proclaim from Heaven the good news to those frightened shepherds.

He did all that, and here we are four weeks to go, and I’ll bet you’re not ready! It's a good job we had nothing to do with the planning of that first Chrismas, because sure enough, we'd have missed something out. Perhaps forgot toput the star in place that would lead the wise men, and instead of them arriving two years after the birth, they might never have got there.

Luke gives us a well detailed account of the events that heralded the coming of Jesus, in fact, we are indebted to Luke for such a comprehensive account of the months leading up to Christmas, the birth of Christ. Whilst Mark and John say nothing about the birth, and Matthew only seven verses, it was up to Luke totell us about this most significant time. Luke was given insight to 'God's secret wisdom'

Luke was a doctor, a man of science, a Greek Gentile, a careful, thinking man, a man of detail, who was very meticulous, and checked out all the facts before coming to a conclusion. Luke took upon himself the painstaking job of talking to those close friends, acquaintances of Jesus, those 'eyewitnesses' people who had been with Jesus. People who in the true 'aural tradition' of the Jews, had all the facts concerning both John and Jesus. Luke wanted to get the facts on paper, and to set the records straight.

Luke wanted to make sure that his readers, Theophilus and the church that was being established in his day would not only know the truth, but to know with certainty. He wanted to make sure that God's people didn't just have the facts in their heads, but the truth in their hearts.

'I have checked everything out very carefully, said Luke, 'so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. In other words, I have checked out and put into order, the rumours, the stories, the things that people have been talking about since the Christian Church came into being, and now you have it, the facts, the truth. 'the certainty of which you have been taught'. He wanted to put meat on the substance of mans hopes, to increase our faith.

God wants the truth to be known, that's why He called the believers to 'check it out', Come and see for yourselves' When Philip was called by Jesus to follow Him, he went to tell Nathaniel and said 'Don't just believe my words, come and see for yourself'

Paul told his hearers to 'check and see if what he had told them was true' and we are told the Bereans did exactly that, they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true' Acts 17; 11.

Christianity doesn't say 'Close your eyes and believe' it says 'Open my eyes Lord, I want to see Jesus, open my ears Lord I want to hear you' There is no such thing as 'blind faith' when it comes to things of the Kingdom, we come into faith with our eyes wide open, and as we realise the Awesomness of Almighty God, our eyes will grow even wider!

What Luke does in these first five verses, is prepare his hearers minds to accept the awesome things that he is going to tell them about. He probably knew how people would react when they read the incredible story of that first Christmas. The visits of the Angel Gabriel to Zecharia and Elizabeth with the most astonishing news. That the long expected herald of the coming Messiah, John the Baptist, would none other than their own son, or that the Messiah himself would be born of a young unmarried virgin!

Who would believe that the greatest news in the history of the world would be given to a scruffy band of ignorant shepherds, and that they would be the first visitors to receive an audience with the King of Kings?

Who would believe that the Saviour, the Messiah would be born in a stinking cattle filled manger because there was no other place for him to be born. That there were 'no vacancies' at the inn!

God had tried to encourage people to be ready for the coming Messiah, but then Gods plan didn‘t quite fit mans expectations, The would expect a warrior on a charger to liberate the oppressed nation of Israel.

Jesus didn't come as they expected Him to. What actually happened, didn't fit their understanding of scripture, or else, 'why would they have crucified Him?' (1 Cor 2; 8)

To each one of us today, this morning,, the truth has been made known, and Christmas is a lovely time, we know it's the birthday of Jesus, our Saviour, we can see that it's the fulfilment of God's most wonderful promises that the Word would become flesh, in order that seeing the Glory of God, mankind would turn from it's wicked, selfish ways, seek forgiveness and find New Life in Him.

God tried to fill man with great Expectation of what He was going to do to both make Himself really known to mankind but also provide an escape route through the sacrificial love of a saviour who would come and live a life that would show us what God was really like and by example show us how He wants us to live at peace with God and one another. God sent Jesus to give His very life so that we could be forgiven the past and given a future of freedom in Christ Jesus. Christmas is a time of Hope, of Joy, of Peace of Love

I pray that in the overture to Christmas, we may prepare our hearts to receive and know the truth that so often our minds find difficult to comprehend.

I pray that in our preparations for Christmas we may be always mindful of 'why' and 'what' we are celebrating.

That we come to Him this Christmas with our eyes, our ears, our minds wide open, for as our text says, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind hasconceived what God has prepared for those who love him"

Let us once again recapture the excitement that comes with innocence, the Joy that comes from hope, the peace that comes through trusting, and the love that comes from knowing Him. As the comedian says 'you aint seen nuttin yet' or Jimmy Cricket who pulls you closer and says with a glint in his eye's 'come 'er,there's more'

The simple truth of Christmas is, that 'He came to share our humanity in order that we could share His Divinity'. And that sounds good to me, probably the best bargain we will be offered this Cristmas!

November 24 Sunday Morning Psalm 42:1-11 Last week we read two of my favourite Bible readings Psalm 46 - God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. and Isaiah 43; 1-6 "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am theLORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; you are precious andhonoured in my sight, and because I love you,

Whenever I feel down or that people seem to be giving me a raw deal, When I loose patience with myself, and wonder what on earth God thinks about me, I turn to this passage of scripture. 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you' I have summoned you by name, you are mine! And I feel humbled before Almighty God, who in His wisdom, called me to step out of my own plans for my life into His.

'Billy, I want you! can you believe it! This is Almighty God, who chose people like Moses, Elijah, David, Paul and Peter, and He, God, chose me. That afternoon when He led me to read Jeremiah 29, I knew that what God was saying to me was ' I want you to give your life to me, I want you to fulfil My purpose here at Idle. I want to use you to help me build My Kingdom. What a privilage! WOW

And if that isn't enough, He has promised to be with me whatever happens to me in life, and I can truly say that He is true to His promise.

In the Psalm 42 the Psalmist acknowledges this fact again when he says Iwill put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Saviour and my God! Now Iam deeply discouraged, but I will remember your kindness—from Mount Hermon, thesource of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar. I hear the tumult of the raging sea as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. Through each day theLord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.

In Psalm 42 we see someone in deep distress but who had placed his trust in God - more than that - the Psalmist has a passionate heart for God.'As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

This is the voice of a spiritual believer, under depressions, struggling with doubts and fears, but yet holding his ground by faith in the living God. It was probably inspired by David's flight. Whatever, here the Psalmist bares his soul and shares the deep, intimate, personal longings of his heart a man. David had a 'passion for God'. As you read the psalms, you can almost sense his 'hunger' as he bares his soul to God.

David was a loving person, a deeply passionate man, a man who's feelings often got the better of him and led him into serious trouble. David wasn't afraid of letting his affections be known. There is no secret about David's lovefor his closest friend, Jonathan, love in the truest sense of the word, a love that was on a higher plane than even his love for Bathsheba. It comes as no surprise then to hear David write about his love for God in such a passionate way.

'Conservative ' stiff upper lip'd English people, find it difficult to understand what 'real love and affection' is all about. English men particularly are very reserved in expressions of affection for one other, and only when enthusiasm gets the better of him, when his guard is down, when he is at his most vulnerable, does he show his true feelings.

You know the time, it's Saturday afternoon, someone gets a goal and the whole team fling themselves on top of each other, even the fans forget who they are, and fling their arms around each other. We say that they've been 'caught up in the passion of the game. Yet if those same people saw any sign of similar behaviour in church on Sunday, they would run a mile, and accuse us of being a weird set.

Go to other countries and it's quite natural to see folk greet each other in an embrace. Do it in this country, and you would get pushed away for fear that they might be misunderstood. Maybe this 'inhibited, reserved and guarded attitude that man has to any sign of affection for his fellow men, is to blame for the lack of understanding when it comes to 'Hungering and thirsting after God, and because of that, many never really get close to Him, and never experience His presence.

David cried and hungered after God with the enthusiasm of a thirsty deer, who after living under the intense heat of the desert sun, needs with all urgency, to drink from the stream, and in that same way, he cried out to God, 'My soul thirsts for you Lord, for the living God. Where can I go to meet with Thee?'

We have it again in Psalm 63;1 'O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, ' and more than that, he cries out, 'my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.'

With the same intensity that he praised God, with 'all my inmost being, every part of me, David yearned for God. Psalm 138;1, 'I will praise You, O Lord, with all of my heart, I will bow down and praise Your name, for Your love and Your faithfulness'.

David puts our 'thirsting' after God, our 'expressions of love' for God in the shade. Could it be that in our reservedness, we are missing out on realising the deep sense of Gods presence, and more importantly, God is being starved of our affection.

In order that we can build up a loving relationship with our Father, we need to spent 'quality time' with Him. Not giving Him our 'spare time', but our 'prime time'.

So often time with God is crammed in at the end of a busy day, when we are to tired to give Him our best attention. How would you feel if that's all the time that your friend could offer you? People fail to see that often their 'busy-ness' takes them away from enjoying the Father love of God, as well as the rest of the family.

You parents will well remember the time when the family was young, and in the struggle to keep the house going, we didn't seem to have enough time for each other.

The men especially, will know what I mean. Those precious moments with the kids that we have missed because we have been too busy 'earning money' to provide for the family. In most cases, that was an unavoidable fact of life, but it doesn't stop us wishing it could be otherwise.

In the same way, in our Christian lives, we can so often 'busy ourselves' with all kinds of other time consuming activities, organising 'this and that', until all our spare time is taken up, providing for the family. We need to getstrike the right balance don't we, so that what we do doesn't detract us from why we are doing it, and that what we do doesn't take place of what we should really be doing, and that's giving Him first place in our lives.

There was an episode in the life of Jesus when He went to the home of His friends, Lazarus, Martha and Mary, which teaches us much about getting the right balance between our 'works' for God and 'enjoying His presence' in perspective. Martha was so busy 'doing' for the Lord, making sure that the house was in order, the meal ready, etc., that she was jealous of the time that Mary seemed spend, just sitting at His feet, listening to what He said. when Jesus saw how upset Martha was, He said 'Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her'.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the things we do 'for God' are not important, on the contrary, the life of this Corps would not be the same, without the valuable contributions you all make. What I am saying is, that we need to make sure that they don't become reasons why we don't take time to read His word, of hungering after the word, of spending time in prayer, of simply 'enjoying His presence'.

We need to develop a passion for Jesus! To want to spend time with Him getting to know Him. We can do this by disciplining ourselves to spend time reading His word. Joshua was encouraged by God to meditate on His word, both day and night (Joshua 1; 8). Sadly. many only take time to look at His word on Sunday. Ask them to live on one good meal a week to help them grow, and they would laugh in your face.

So many make the excuse that they are so busy they have very little time left to settle down to read what God has to say to them, yet don't have much trouble in finding time to watch Neighbours! They might have to tape it because they were busy when it was on, but they find some other time to watch it.

Sadly many delegate Gods word to the back of the book shelf, gathering dust with the other books they never read. Instead of settling down to read a novel, they could if they wanted, take time to read a real love story.

The bible often gets the same treatment as those love letters that were sent when we were courting, carefully bundled up 'wrapped with a ribbon round them, intending to be read sometime, lying almost forgotten at the bottom of a drawer and only looked at when we spring clean.

But when you take the time to look at them, all the memories and the passion of our love come back. In them we sought to Know as much about each other as we could, there was a yearning, a searching after the inner most thoughts of our partner, a seeking to know them. Gods word is a love letter to us all, and to get closer to Him all we have to do, is take time to read His word, to meditate on it both day and night, so that it becomes an integral part of our thinking, and influences the way we live.

Mary, sought to enjoy her time with her master, she realised how precious time was, that time is short, and so she listened to His every word. We need to give Him 'First place in our lives, instead of the dregs. Mary's love for herLord was such, that she was the one that God appointed to anoint the body of Jesus in preparation for His greatest sacrifice, by giving His life on the cross. She anointed Jesus with a most costly perfume, a seemingly extravagant act, the oil cost a whole years wage, but that didn't bother Mary, she wanted her Lord to have nothing but the best, whatever the cost.

In Dr. Jack Deere's book entitled 'Surprised by the power of the Spirit', says; Spiritual maturity includes sharing the affections of God and knowing His voice. It's about loving what God loves and hating what God hates. Spiritually mature Christians love God and His people passionately. Only in the context of a love like that will Bible knowledge and the gifts of the Spirit ever achieve there divine purposes. Mary valued the presence of Jesus and made the most of the time she spent with Him.

The most powerful people on earth, are those who have been with Jesus. 'When they saw the courage of Peter and John, they took note that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4;13). Being with Jesus, always produces a passion for Him. Moses, Daniel, David, Peter, John and Paul were people who were consumed with a passion for God.

Another important way in which we can develop our affection for God, is by prayer. Jesus spent much time talking to His Father, especially before any of His most challenging tasks. We would do well to learn that discipline for ourselves.

Take time to be holy, to be like Jesus, spend much time in secret with Jesus our Lord. By looking to Jesus, like Him we shall be. Thy friends in thy conduct, His likeness shall see. I pray that we as a Corps, as His children willcultivate our passion for God to such a point that He will as close and as real as we are to each other.

Psalm 16; 11 - Psalm 89;15-16 Psalm 119;148 'My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.

I believe that God is just waiting for the opportunity to reveal His Glory to us, and just as God wants us to earnestly and passionately seek His presence, He can't wait to welcome us. God can turn your 'Why' into a 'Wow My soul thirsts for God, for the Living God'

His first question was not 'where can I go to meet with God' but 'When'. There was an urgency, a deep desire, a hunger to meet with God. If that were the attitude of everyone who came to Church this Sunday, to meet with God, then workplaces would be buzzing tomorrow, with people who have been filled to overflowing, that they can't keep it to themselves.

On the day of Pentecost, that very first meeting of the New Christian Church, the disciples met with God, and were filled with the Holy Spirit, empowered to spread the good news with a vibrancy and enthusiasm that had probably not been seen since the days of David. We are told that from that day onwards, they made every opportunity to meet together, to share together and see the power of God in their midst

One of the first miracles that God did through them, was to take the hand of the cripple, that man who had been sitting at the doorway of the Temple, watching people go in and out, occasionally throwing some money at his feet to see him through another day.

Peter and John, stretched their hands out to him and commanded him to 'rise up onto his feet', not only did he do that, he leaped with joy, at his new found freedom, and surpassed all the worshippers, by dancing into church. He couldn't wait to get in!

That day, that man who had gone religiously to sit at the door of the church to beg from the churchgoers, got more than he bargained for, he met with Jesus, and then dancing with joy before Him, went into the Church 'praising God'.

That day, he was transformed from an 'onlooker' to 'participant', a little like Zacchaeus, who was content to watch Jesus from the safety of a tree, until the day, he met with Jesus, and Jesus commanded him to 'come on down', and get in on the action instead of watching from the sidelines.

When a person desires to 'meet with God' then he has to be prepared for a life transforming experience. Perhaps that's what people are afraid of, and why many put as their excuse for not going, that it's boring. When your desire is to 'Meet with God' so often you get more than you bargained for.

Have you met with Him this morning, or has it been just another Sunday morning, a good sing, good fellowship? Why did you come? That might sound like an impertinent question I didn't intend it to be. I believe that it's important that we face up to that question, and seek to answer it, honestly.

Ask yourself the question, 'Why did I come, was it because you 'thirsted after God', you were hungry to learn from Him? Was it to let God see and hear how much you love Him? Is it because your soul 'thirsts after the living God?

Psalm 42; 1-2, 'As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.' Does it? When can I go and meet with God ? You've come to just the right place!

I pray that it will be the desire of each and everyone of us, to MEET WITH GOD here and now. To COME INTO HIS presence. To be prepared for Him to TRANSFORM OUR LIVES.

I believe that God wants to meet with us in a way that until now we have only read about in His Word. He wants to manifest Himself in a way that you never thought possible. In a way that you have